Two people died in slides in December and avalanche risk remains “considerable” this week after recent storms in Colorado high country.
backcountry
Posted inOpinion Columns
Zornio: Colorado has the nation’s most deadly avalanche terrain. Winter recreators should know about CAIC.
A gap in knowledge, increased backcountry use and climate change are increasing avalanche risks for recreationists
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Beloved Steamboat Springs local killed in avalanche, second person rescued by helicopter
A beloved Steamboat Springs local was killed in an avalanche in the Fish Creek drainage northeast of town. Drew Hyde, 49, was skiing with a friend above the North Fork of Fish Creek on a heavily treed slope when a small avalanche released Saturday afternoon. He was swept into trees and “came to rest against […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
1 man, 2 dogs die in avalanche in western Colorado
MARBLE — One person was killed after being caught in an avalanche in western Colorado on Friday, authorities said. The avalanche happened near the town of Marble, about 200 miles southwest of Denver, as a group of four people and two dogs traveled on snowshoes to a backcountry home, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said. […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Outdoors, Wildfire
20 years of planning saved Rocky Mountain National Park from the worst of the East Troublesome fire. It will take 20 more to fix the damage.
Early on the morning of Oct. 23, Mike Lewelling stood at the Forest Canyon Overlook on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park and stared 2,500 feet down into what he called a cauldron of fire and swirling wood smoke. The East Troublesome fire had Lewelling, the park’s fire management officer for 15 years, […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Economy, Environment, Growth, News, Outdoors
Off-highway vehicles are revving up locals (in a bad way) in Colorado’s remote mountain towns
When Teri Havens bought two acres tucked in a thick stand of aspen on a hill south of Marble in 1995, it was her bit of backcountry nirvana. Yes, it sat along a popular jeeping trail ̶ a county road leading to the historic Lead King Loop. But she could live with four-wheel-drive vehicles jouncing […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors
Colorado public land managers rely on education, then enforcement to deal with a crush of long-term campers
One man dashed out of the dilapidated camper trailer as police cruisers rolled up to his encampment in the Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest. The site was trashed, with a newer — and likely stolen — catalytic converter sitting next to a fire pit filled with long stems of a marijuana plant. Happens that way all […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Outdoors
Snowmobiler killed in avalanche near Colorado’s Rollins Pass was pinned beneath sled
The father and son had throttled their snowmobiles up the steep, east-facing slope below Mount Epworth several times that Sunday afternoon. Dad — 58-year-old Michael “Tony” Westall — went for a final charge up the hill. But instead of turning his machine around the high-point of his arc, he kept going across the hill. His […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Snowboarder, snowmobiler killed in two separate Colorado avalanches on Sunday
The death toll from avalanches in Colorado climbed to 10 on Sunday. A snowboarder touring solo near Mount Trelease north of Loveland Pass was buried in a very big slide around 9:30 a.m. Sunday and a snowmobiler was caught in a slide west of Rollins Pass later in the day. Alpine Rescue Team rescuers responded […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Silverton Avalanche
MAP: Colorado avalanches have killed at least 11 people during the 2020-21 winter season
At least 11 people have been killed in Colorado avalanches during the 2020-2021 snow season. Avalanche forecasters and search and rescue crews were worried that this year would be especially deadly because of the coronavirus pandemic and a weak snowpack. The season is Colorado’s deadliest since the record-setting 2012-2013 snow year when 11 people died […]