Front Range
AvalancheBen Pritchett · Dec 4, 2022 · Front Range
Weather
Steady west to west-northwest winds blew around 30 miles per hour, gusting into the 40's. During the morning, a few inches of snow accumulated. The Berthoud Pass SNOTEL recorded a gain of 0.3" of snow water equivalent in the hours leading up to the avalanche.
Snowpack
In the morning, the hiker described sinking up to their knees in soft snow en route to Mt. Flora.
When they returned along the same route in the early afternoon, the snow surface changed, growing stiffer from wind-drifting. The hiker described walking on top of the stiff snow, no longer sinking with each step.
Avalanche
Around 2pm, heading downhill back to the Pass, the hiker collapsed through the wind-drifted snowpack.The snow around them broke into a slab avalanche. It released around 100 to 150 feet wide, generally around a foot deep, sliding on weak snow near the ground. The hiker was carried on a hard block of snow around 40 feet downslope.They came to rest on top of the debris, unburied, and uninjured.
The hiker placed a cell phone call to a relative, who set in motion a response by Grand County Search and Rescue. The SAR team met the victim in the drainage below the avalanche and helped him return to the highway.
The hiker placed a cell phone call to a relative, who set in motion a response by Grand County Search and Rescue. The SAR team met the victim in the drainage below the avalanche and helped him return to the highway.