Avalanche and Snow Slide Thread (Denver, Durango: safety, area, schedule)

[DOUBLE H]

One of my neighbors works for CDOT, dispatches out of the workyard out of Whitewater. I asked him about some of the drivers who work out of Silverton, Durango, and Ouray. He said it takes a special kind of driver AND an individual to work that road. He also told me that CDOT diagrams dozens and dozens of avalanche paths over that area and a few dozen of those paths have specific names to them.

One of them is named after a C.W. McCall song, called the "Riverside Slide". (sorry jazzlover, I know country music might not be your thing). McCall is the one who hit the top of the Country music charts in the mid-70's with "Wolf Creek Pass."

One more thing. An average winter in the Red Mountain Pass area is anywhere from 17 to 20 feet of snow. In fact, a year ago about this time the people who live in Silverton had seven feet of snow sitting in town. Sounds about average in that area as far as I'm concerned.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

One of my neighbors works for CDOT, dispatches out of the workyard out of Whitewater. I asked him about some of the drivers who work out of Silverton, Durango, and Ouray. He said it takes a special kind of driver AND an individual to work that road. He also told me that CDOT diagrams dozens and dozens of avalanche paths over that area and a few dozen of those paths have specific names to them.

One of them is named after a C.W. McCall song, called the "Riverside Slide". (sorry jazzlover, I know country music might not be your thing). McCall is the one who hit the top of the Country music charts in the mid-70's with "Wolf Creek Pass."

One more thing. An average winter in the Red Mountain Pass area is anywhere from 17 to 20 feet of snow. In fact, a year ago about this time the people who live in Silverton had seven feet of snow sitting in town. Sounds about average in that area as far as I'm concerned.

I know those songs well. I heard from a friend who lives in Silverton that they're pushing 7' in town again right now. Durango supposedly has around 3' on the ground. A few of these more "normal" winters may wash out a lot of feckless transplants who believed all that Chamber of Commerce crap about the always "mild" winters in Colorado's lower elevations. Sometimes they are mild, but a lot of times they're not. As for the southwest Colorado mountains, which is where the big snow is actually happening this winter (unlike the rest of the state, which continues to languish below normal), these heavy, wet snows with relatively mild temperatures are the perfect kind to cause the mountains to puke up some really dangerous snowslides. A guy I know who drives 550 from Ouray to Durango a couple of times a week calls conditions "spooky."

[brightdoglover]

The monument reads, "This monument is dedicated to those who have given the supreme sacrifice in the maintenance of Red Mountain Pass. The lonely vigil of the night is known only to those men of courage."

Double H, thank you for posting that. Very moving.

[Mike from back east]

Memorial at Red Mountain Pass on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mountainbeliever/2659628223/ - broken link)

[whirnot]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

I have lived in Colorado for most of my life and I have yet to see a avalanche. I think as long as you snow ski in major ski resorts and take the major highways to get there you should be ok. I have never understood why anyone would want to ski out of bounds anyway? If someone is going to do something that risky then I don't feel sorry for them if they find themselves in a avalanche.

I take that back I watch the Avalanche on TV at times, especially when they are doing good lol But have yet to see them in person.

Gee, too bad you were not there to say this to one of my class mates when they told her, her mother had just died in an avalanche on Aspen Mountain. INBOUNDS!

[Mike from back east]

Had an avalanche fatality this past week of a skier down-state, triggered by skiers at a higher altitude.

Excerpts from another article on this event:

- The avalanche happened about 3 p.m. on Cirque Mountain, in the San Juan Mountain Range, in rugged, remote country about eight miles southwest of Ridgway ... A party of seven skiers were using a "hut system" in the Uncompahgre National Forest and were skiing at an elevation of about 11,500 feet when the avalanche occurred. ... the party had split up and some skiers were crossing the mountain above others when the snow broke loose. Part of the group had gone above where the victims were ... The avalanche was triggered by the group who had gone above, up on a ridge.

FWIW: The President of Conoco-Phillips Oil Alaska Division was killed this weekend by an avalanche while snowmobiling in Alaska's Grandview Wilderness Area.

[DOUBLE H]

I talked to one of my friends who lives above Ridgway, off county road 1. The community is very saddened by this. Mike, thanks for the link on this!

[sterlinggirl]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

FWIW: The President of Conoco-Phillips Oil Alaska Division was killed this weekend by an avalanche while snowmobiling in Alaska's Grandview Wilderness Area.

I had to smile at the irony of that!

[jim9251]

I was listening to that avalanche rescue on the scanner. Ouray County Mountain Rescue should get medals for what they did during that.

[Mike from back east]

There were 500 avalanches in COLO this past week. Many were small, but still, 500 avalanches.