Thursday, December 21, 2006

Wow, an avalanche warning on Pikes Peak...

That doesn't happen very often, but with serious snow and phenominal wind loading the slopes of Pikes Peak, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued this warning:

AVALANCHE WARNING FOR THE PIKES PEAK AREA AND
HIGH ELEVATION AREAS OF THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS. THE BACKCOUNTRY
AVALANCHE DANGER IS HIGH. NATURAL AND HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE
LIKELY. ACCUMULATIONS IN EXCESS OF 20 INCHES OF SNOW HAVE
FALLEN...THIS ALONG WITH HIGH WINDS ALONG THE RIDGETOPS HAVE
DANGEROUSLY LOADED THE SNOWPACK.
BACKCOUNTRY TRAVELERS ARE ADVISED TO AVOID TRAVELING IN OR BELOW
AVALANCHE TERRAIN OR OTHER STEEP SLOPES THAT ARE NOT HEAVILY
FORESTED. SAFE BACKCOUNTRY TRAVEL WILL REQUIRE ADVANCED AVALANCHE
AVOIDANCE TECHNIQUES.
THIS WARNING IS VALID THROUGH 4 PM THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
THIS STATEMENT IS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO PERSONS USING THE
BACKCOUNTRY OUTSIDE DEVELOPED SKI AREA BOUNDARIES. WHEN NECESSARY
SKI AREAS USE AVALANCHE CONTROL METHODS WITHIN THEIR BOUNDARIES.
FOR ADDITIONAL AVALANCHE INFORMATION...CALL...970-482-0457 IN FORT
COLLINS...719-520-0020 IN COLORADO SPRINGS...970-668-0600 IN SUMMIT
COUNTY...719-395-4994 IN BUENA VISTA...970-247-8187 IN DURANGO...
303-275-5360 IN DENVER. OR VISIT OUR WEB PAGE AT
WWW.GEOSURVEY.STATE.CO.US/AVALANCHE.

No word yet from Barr Camp on what conditions were like up on the peak yesterday. When we hear, you will too.

1 comment:

Kevin Beck said...

Yes, This is incredible. We're up in Briargate and have drifts of 6 feet. The wind has been amazing, such a deep and unrelenting howl. Enjoy the White Christmas.