Colorado: Avalanche season starts in backcountry

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Some parts of the San Juans have already picked up 5 feet of snow

Avalanche forecasters say there's enough snow in the high country for isolated snow slides.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Although there haven’t been any avalanche accidents reported yet this season, the experts with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center say backcountry travelers should start thinking about the potential risks as the snow starts to pile up.

Last winter season, the first accident occurred Oct. 24 near Crested Butte, followed by three other close calls the first two weeks of November. The first fatality came Nov. 22, when Wolf Creek ski patrol director Scott Kay was buried and killed while doing avalanche control work. See the details from early season avalanche accidents at this CAIC web page. (more…)

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Week in review & top stories

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Energy, ski resort news and global warming …

The rainbow photoblog made the most-viewed list, garnering 500 hits in just a couple of days. Click on the link to see the pics.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A couple of energy stories and a report on the latest scheme to try to develop real estate at Wolf Creek Pass headed the list of most-viewed stories the past few days, as social media played a huge role in driving readers to Summit Voice. A link to our story on the renewable energy hearing in Colorado, for example, was posted by more than 20 Twitter users before we had even sent out a single tweet. Similarly, the opinion piece on renewable energy was also spread widely via Twitter and other blogs, while the story on a possible land swap that would enable real estate development at Wolf Creek was shared at numerous ski-related social web sites. A couple of climate-related stories also made the list, as did a photoblog of Summit County rainbows. See the rest on the list below, followed by a few more headlines from the past week.

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Morning photo: Southern storm

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Colorado powder

Freshies at Ski Cooper. PHOTO BY CASEY DAY.

SUMMIT COUNTY — The most recent storm to roll through Colorado dropped fresh snow statewide, but the southern part of the state saw the biggest storm totals, with 28 inches at Silverton Mountain, 19 inches at Purgatory, inches at Wolf Creek, 16 inches at Monarch and 14 inches at Telluride.

In the north, 10 inches at Steamboat helped that resort reach the so-called four-wire milestone, when snow reaches up to the fourth strand of the wire fences characterizing the area’s ranching landscape.

So we’re celebrating the late winter powder with a photoblog courtesy Colorado Ski Country USA and some of the best ski photographers in Colorado. Click on the images to visit the photographer web sites. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, daily photoblog, Morning photo, photography, seasons, Ski Resorts, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Ski patroller was wearing Avalung when killed by slide

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

A skier deploys an avalanche probe, used to pinpoint buried victims, during the annual Beacon Bowl event at Arapahoe Basin.

Colorado Avalanche Information Center releases technical report on  Wolf Creek avalanche fatality; OSHA to determine whether patrol director Scott Kay was exposed to unacceptable risks

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Wolf Creek ski patrol director Scott Kay was wearing an Avalung breathing device when he was killed by a soft snow avalanche on Nov. 22, but was not able to deploy the Avalung before he was buried, according to a technical report posted by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. According to the CAIC report, the mouthpiece was still secured in the shoulder pack of the harness when Kay was uncovered by rescue workers.

The Avalung is intended to enable buried avalanche victims to breathe while trapped under the snow. Many avalanche victims die of asphyxiation, either when snow and ice fill their nose and mouth, or sometimes when an ice mask forms from condensation, blocking the flow of air.

According to the CAIC report, the area of the slide had a variable snow depth ranging from boulders in some spots, with up to two to three feet of snow on the ground in other areas. The avalanche ran on a firm melt-freeze ice crust that formed on top of snow that fell in October. The crown face, where the slide broke away from the surrounding snowpack, ranged from three inches to three feet deep. The area had received 16 inches of new snow in the 24 hours before the avalanche, with strong southwest winds blowing during the storm. The slide was on a 45-degree, northeast-facing slope at an elevation of 11,600 feet. (more…)

Filed under: avalanches, ski industry, Ski Resorts, skiing and riding, snow | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Steep shots: Web resources for deals and powder info

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Look for Emily Palm's Steep Shots column every two weeks.

By Emily Palm

Skiers have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to a sweet new high-speed lift at A-Basin, bountiful snow news persists. The Pali lift at A-Basin is already running, and this year, Keystone’s Outback opened earlier than ever before. Hopefully all the good news is a harbinger of a season to redeem last year’s paltry snow totals.

Indeed, the usual November speculation has been replaced with the excitement of watching early season snow pile up, along with a flurry of photos and powder-day gloating on Facebook, Twitter and the like. I have already experienced far too much sleeping-in remorse this season. If knowledge is power, fortify your early-season ski quiver with the following resources.

Measuring snow by Tweet.

Last week at Outpost Sunsport in Ft. Collins while my husband had his boot punched to accommodate his sixth toe (a bunionette that commonly plagues alpine skiers), we echoed skier chitchat heard across Colorado. One fellow told us about the previous powder day at Keystone, and that a tipping point for making the two-hour journey was the heads up from Keystone Resort’s Twitter feed that snow was falling. (more…)

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Morning photo: It’s piling up …

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Winter comes to Colorado

Jenney Coberly captured this image of snow flakes sparkling in a cathedral of trees, perfect for a Sunday morning.

SUMMIT COUNTY — Sometimes it comes in big waves; other times, it creeps in through the back door. Either way, it’s pure magic when Old Man Winter arrives to cast his crystalline spell over the hills and forests of the Colorado high country. More pics after the break … (more…)

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Weatherblog: Inch by inch …

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Wilderness Sports sponsors the Summit Voice weatherblog. Click to visit Wilderness Sports online.

Morning alpenglow lights the crest of the Gore Range in Summit County, Colorado. Click on the image to see more sunrise photos.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A typical winter weather pattern is developing over Summit County, as a moist northwest flow rushes down from the Gulf of Alaska and over the state. Short periods of high pressure will bring dry and clear interludes, alternating with embedded disturbances bringing showery periods through the first half of next week. None of the systems looks to produce big dumps, but our snowpack will build, inch by inch.

Storm totals for the last two days include 10 inches at Wolf Creek, 6 inches at Copper Mountain and four inches at Loveland. Friday looks dry and cool, with highs in the mid-20s and a strong inversion that will trap cold air and smoke in the valley floors, possibly all day long. Lows the next few night are forecast to drop into the low single digits. The average high for Nov. 12 is 40 degrees, the average low is 12 degrees. The record high, 62 degrees, was set in 1952 and the record low, minus 18 degrees, was set in 1911. (more…)

Filed under: Summit County Colorado, Summit County snow and weather | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

A-Basin to open upper mountain Nov. 5

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Keystone and Copper Mountain opening Nov. 5

More resorts opening, more terrain at A-Basin and snow in the forecast late in the weekend. Ski season is rolling 'rround, right on schedule.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — More skiing terrain will open this weekend around Colorado, including at A-Basin, where the Norway chair will open to provide access to the upper part of the mountain, according to Alan Henceroth’s A-Basin blog. The lift will serve Dercum’s Gulch and Lenawee Face, adding to the runs already open on the lower mountain.

Keystone will open for the season Friday, and is promising top-to-bottom skiing, along with more than 20 features in the early season terrain park. The resort is reporting a 14-inch base at mid-mountain, with temps reaching the mid to upper 50s Wednesday. (more…)

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