Two people died in slides in December and avalanche risk remains “considerable” this week after recent storms in Colorado high country.
Berthoud Pass
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Authorities responding to avalanche on Berthoud Pass, no victims reported
No one was caught in an avalanche on Berthoud Pass, Grand County authorities said Wednesday afternoon after search and rescue teams were called to investigate a report that two people may have been buried. First responders searched the area by air and on the ground using beacons and avalanche-trained rescue dogs and confirmed that there […]
Posted inColoradans, Crime and Courts, News, Outdoors
Colorado’s first-ever criminal charges following an avalanche could be slippery slope for backcountry travelers
The two snowboarders talk about snow conditions and route selection as they drop in, one at a time. Gusting wind is blowing snow across the ridge as they wind between reefy rocks. “Avalanche!” yells Tyler DeWitt as he cranks to a stop below his friend Evan Hannibal. The two watch the slide — captured on […]
Posted inCOVID, Culture, Health, News
Social media shaming is spiking during the coronavirus pandemic, for better or worse
Big Brother is in your Facebook feed. And watching your Instagram account to see if you’re going anywhere besides the grocery store. And ready to troll you on Twitter for doing something selfish during the pandemic. If you were part of the hordes that parked at Berthoud Pass last weekend to backcountry ski, we saw […]
Posted inEnvironment, Outdoors
A Colorado avalanche instructor’s survey of backcountry skiers’ preparedness had “shocking” results
Imagine you are pushing your raft into whitewater at the start of a remote river trip and you turn to the person next to you and ask them a question about basic river safety, says Vail backcountry ski guide and avalanche safety instructor Kelli Rohrig. “And you find out that person doesn’t know how to […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, News, Outdoors
Jake Burton Carpenter, a snowboarder first and foremost, leaves Colorado legacy of community and persistence
Lucy Garst remembers the grief she and her husband, Ike, got for welcoming Jake Burton Carpenter, Tom Sims and their side-slipping ilk to their Berthoud Pass ski area in 1978. “Ike had a very soft spot in his heart for both Jake and Tom Sims,” Garst says. “Both were willing to work together with us, […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors, Transportation
Colorado’s weekend snowstorm prompted avalanches in areas that hadn’t slid in decades. Here’s why.
Dramatic dashboard recordings over the weekend of avalanches along Interstate 70 between Frisco and Copper Mountain have stoked anxiety among Coloradans about the safety of the state’s high country roadways sitting beneath avalanche chutes. But experts say the slides are the result of historic conditions that have been lining up for the entire snow season, […]