Snowboarder uninjured after being partially buried in Saturday avalanche on Berthoud Pass
Recreators have triggered 2 slides in Tea Cup Bowl this month
Colorado Avalanche Information Center/Courtesy photo
A snowboarder was caught in an avalanche Saturday, Jan. 25, in Tea Cup Bowl on Berthoud Pass, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The slide, which occurred on a southeast-facing slope below tree line, broke about 30 feet above the snowboarder, catching and partially burying him, according to a report.
The slide was small but forceful enough to carry the snowboarder and break his splitboard on a tree, the report stated. He was uninjured.
“If the individual (instead of the snowboard) had hit the tree, the result may not have been as lucky,” a representative from the Avalanche Information Center posted on Facebook.
According to the center, both the snowboarder and his partner saw signs of wind loading — when the wind deposits snow on the sheltered side of the slope. There were also wind-drifted slabs, where the snow can be densely packed down. The avalanche broke to the ground in several places.
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“This is the kind of persistent-slab avalanche you can trigger in wind-drifted snow across much of the state,” the Facebook post read. “You can find safer travel on lower-angled slopes and those sheltered from the wind.”
According to the center, the same area slid previously this month. On Jan. 2, a skier remotely triggered an avalanche from about 20 feet away but was able to outrun the slide, the center wrote.
Avalanche conditions in the Grand County area, including Berthoud Pass, are rated moderate (Level 2 of 5). Despite the rating, deadly slides remain possible. The center stressed the danger of “steep, rocky areas connected to drifted slopes.”
Before venturing out into the backcountry, the center urges recreationists to look at avalanche forecasts at Colorado.gov/avalanche.
This story is from SkyHiNews.com
