Thomas Peipert
Lexi Keim, from White Pine Touring, holds an ARVA Reactor 18 Airbag Backpack on Dec. 18, 2020, in Park City, Utah. With another ski season getting underway, avalanche forecasters and search-and-rescue groups are concerned that large numbers of skiers and snowboarders will again turn to the backcountry to avoid crowds and reservation systems at resorts. The increased interest in the backcountry has been a lifeline for the outdoor retail industry amid the pandemic, but it has also renewed a push among gear manufacturers and stores to sell responsibly. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) January 02, 2021 - 8:20 AM
DENVER - 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.
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.
The red line in this image marks the face of the avalanche crown on the Chimeny Chute avalanche path.The red arrow shows the flow of the avalanche out of the bottom of the rock-walled chute.
Photo from Colorado Avalanche Information Center
A 57-year-old Boulder man was alone and did not have an avalanche beacon on him when he was killed by avalanche on Saturday.
However, even having a partner might have not been enough to save him, according to a new report produced by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
“(The skier) sustained significant traumatic injuries in the avalanche,” the report explained. “He might not have survived the avalanche even if he was touring with partners able to perform a quick rescue and recovery.”
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The Inherent Dangers of Backcountry Skiing in Colorado’s Mountains
What can a fatal backcountry skiing accident on Jones Pass, on the west side of the Continental Divide, teach us about Colorado’s snowcat outfitters? And can these quintessential Centennial State adventures ever truly be safe?Tracy Ross •
The avalanche that killed my friend, Hans Berg, on Jones Pass on the afternoon of March 7, 2019, was about 2,000 feet wide and ran from its start, beneath a cornice that collapsed, approximately 1,000 feet to its stopping point, across a snowcat road. The avalanche, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), spread both to the north and south of the spot where the school-bus-size chunk of cornice fell and triggered more breaks on a sheet of snow that sat on what avalanche professionals call a persistent weak layer (PWL). PWLs resist bonding to other layers of snow over time, and when disturbed they can fail, sometimes creating massive avalanches