Safety issues mount as skiers hit backcountry during pandemic Share Updated: 1:29 PM CST Jan 2, 2021 By THOMAS PEIPERT, Associated Press
Safety issues mount as skiers hit backcountry during pandemic Share Updated: 1:29 PM CST Jan 2, 2021
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Show Transcript AND GOOD MEMORIES ARE WAITING . THE FACT THAT WE ARE OPEN IS PRETTY EXCITING. WE ARE HOPING TO STAY OPEN. THAT MEANS CUTTING WAY BACK ON THE NUMBER OF TICKETS AND THE PEOPLE WE CAN HAVE ON SITE, WE WILL DO THAT TO GET THROUGH THIS YEAR. AMY: IF YOU DON’T LIKE CROWDS, LIMITED TICKET SALES, REDUCED LINES, AND WIDE OPEN TRAILS BROUGHT TO YOU BY COVID. THE STORY IS GOING TO BE THAT THE NUMBERS ARE GOING TO BE A LOT LOWER, BUT WE KNEW THAT. AMY THE CRANMORE INN IN NORTH : CONWAY IS OPERATING AT 25% COMPARED TO LAST YEAR. SUSTAINABLE? NO. THE OWNERS ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF FEDERAL PAYROLL MONEY AND SAY THEY MISS THEIR GUESTS. WE ARE WAITING FOR THE HEAVY SNOW TO
DENVER (AP) On March 14, Colorado s governor issued an executive order shutting down ski resorts across the state. The coronavirus had arrived and was spreading rapidly in small mountain communities that were attracting hordes of spring break revelers.
The next day, with chairlifts and gondolas hanging idly overhead, a large group converged on Aspen Mountain, passed a closure sign and “skinned” up the slopes under their own power to get in a few hard-earned turns.
In the following weeks, skiers and snowboarders with nowhere else to go were increasingly lured by the untouched powder of the backcountry. In the nine weeks after resorts closed, 32 people were caught in avalanches, including two who were killed, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. During the previous four months, 65 people were swept up in slides.
Backcountry skiers triggered more than 10 avalanches in San Juan Mountains this week
Durango, Colorado Currently Thu 49% chance of precipitation 72% chance of precipitation 5% chance of precipitation
No serious injures, but dangerous close calls, Colorado Avalanche Information Center says
Friday, Jan. 1, 2021 11:51 AM Updated: Friday, Jan. 1, 2021 8:08 PM
Backcountry skiers triggered more than 10 avalanches in San Juan Mountains this week Backcountry skiers have triggered more than 10 avalanches in the San Juan Mountains since Monday, Colorado Avalanche Information Center records show. Courtesy of Colorado Avalanche Information Center
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Since Monday, backcountry skiers have triggered more than 10 avalanches in the San Juan Mountains, and while no one was seriously injured, there have been some dangerous close calls, acco
Avalanche warnings in effect through Wednesday morning in central, southern mountains
Several areas received more than a foot of snow in recent storm
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Courtesy Colorado Avalanche Information Center
Two avalanches seen on Jones Pass on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020.
and last updated 2020-12-29 14:36:29-05
DENVER â The Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued avalanche warnings Tuesday for the central and southern mountains of Colorado after several more inches of snow fell Monday and overnight on top of what is already a weak snowpack.
The avalanche warnings are in effect for the Aspen, Grand Mesa, Sawatch Range, Gunnison, Northern and Southern San Juan, and Sangre de Cristo backcountry forecast zones through Wednesday morning. Those zones also have avalanche danger ratings at âhighâ â 4 of 5 on the danger scale.
Grand County Search and Rescue responded Saturday, Dec. 26, to a call of an overdue backcountry skier. Rescuers found a body in an avalanche on Berthoud Pass.Photo from Grand County Search and Rescue
BERTHOUD PASS A solo backcountry skier was killed in an avalanche Saturday, Dec. 26, on Berthoud Pass in nearby Grand County.
Grand County Search and Rescue responded to a call of an overdue backcountry skier at about 3 p.m. Saturday. The skier was in the area of Chimney Chute in the First Creek Drainage of Berthoud Pass, according to a report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Search and rescue volunteers found a recent avalanche in the area when they arrived. Crews searched the avalanche path and found the skier fully buried, according to rescue team officials.