Avalanche
In its monthly report, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) details “602 avalanches, 112 of which were human-triggered. In eight avalanche incidents, 10 people were caught, and three were partly buried with no major injuries.” It is the first time since 2018/19 that there were no avalanche-related fatalities in Colorado before the New Year.
In December 2023, Colorado experienced notable weather events impacting avalanche conditions. The month began with a significant storm on December 8, bringing heavy snow and strong winds, particularly in the Park Range, I-70 corridor, and Aspen area. Despite these conditions, the robust snowpack mitigated a widespread avalanche cycle. However, the largest avalanche of the season occurred on Treasury Mountain near Crested Butte.
Mid-December saw a shift in focus from basal layers to surface conditions due to warm weather and cold nights, leading to faceting on the surface snow and surface hoar development. A storm on December 13 brought snow to the Southern Mountains, triggering a series of large avalanches.
The latter half of December was characterized by westerly flows, light winds, and warm temperatures, resulting in only a few avalanches and generally low to moderate avalanche danger levels. The holiday period saw light snowfall across the state, with varied accumulations in different regions. The month concluded with a dry spell, low avalanche danger in most areas, and, thankfully, no fatalities.
So far this season, North America has had one avalanche fatality. On November 11, 2023, a slide in the Ranger Creek area, Alberta, killed an ice climber.
