"On Saturday, December 6, three skiers near Butler Gulch, Colorado, were caught and partially buried by an avalanche triggered by another party upslope. The avalanche, which started small, was remotely triggered by a skier travelling across a slope connected to the steeper terrain above, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. As the initial slide began to move, it stepped down, leading to an avalanche that spanned the entire slope, with a crown about 200-300 feet wide, and broke down to the bed surface below."
"Considered a continental snowpack, Colorado frequently holds one of the more intimidating avalanche problems buried beneath its layers of pristine snowpersistent slab avalanches. These persistent slab problems are much more likely to be remotely triggered, like the avalanche from Butler Gulch, and can fracture deep below the surface, as they tend to stay present as storm after storm deposits more snow on top, waiting for the right trigger to release."
A remotely triggered slide near Butler Gulch stepped down and broke to the bed surface, producing a 200–300 foot crown and traveling about 1,500 feet over varied terrain. The avalanche carried and partially buried three skiers who were ascending below, and both parties confirmed the skiers were uninjured and skied out under their own power. The incident underscores that early season snowpacks can contain complex, deep weaknesses. Colorado’s continental snowpack often harbors persistent slab problems that are prone to remote triggering and can remain sensitive as storms deposit new snow.
Read at snowbrains.com
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