The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Even as the Crested Butte community comes to grips with the tragic losses that occurred in the Loveland slide, new snow continues to drive skiers into the backcountry. And while the calendar reads April, local avalanche experts urge caution.
“We’re seeing winter-type conditions well into spring now,” said Billy Rankin, snow safety director with Irwin Snowcat Skiing. “We don’t have spring-like conditions, which are predictable—get out early, the corn cycle, get off the slopes before the snow gets too wet. The last couple of weeks we’ve had some big storms, cold temperatures, and wind that brought us back to winter snowpack.”
Just like deep slab instability reared its head near Loveland Pass, deep slab instability has caused a series of avalanches in Crested Butte. Ben Pritchett, program director for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education, explained that over the last two weeks, avalanches on Whetstone and Cement Mountain, near Star Pass and in Maroon Bowl were the result of weak layers that formed in November and December. Pritchett explained that the warming trend this spring followed by heavy loading brought those dormant slabs to life.
“They seem to have gone back to sleep, but looking forward, any sign of warm-ups, or if it doesn’t freeze overnight, and there are any good-size storms, that should really key people into the potential for the deep slabs to come back awake,” Pritchett said.
He added deep slab instability has a low probability and a lack of predictability. The most forecasters can do is say that it’s possible given current conditions—even after extensive research, it’s hard to predict from slope to slope.
“Deep slabs don’t provide warnings until they go big. You can’t do anything to say I’m going to avoid it,” Pritchett said.
While the probability is low, the consequences are high. It’s a message that hits especially close to home this week.
For more information on the Loveland Pass avalanche, visit the CAIC website at https://avalanche.state.co.us/index.php.
