Avalanche conditions are very dangerous across the Colorado mountains, with Avalanche Warnings from Gunnison east through the Sawatch, and north to Aspen and Summit County.
Very large, destructive avalanches are likely. Avoid traveling around or below slopes steeper than about 30 degrees.With conditions like this, it is easy to focus on large and usually more obvious avalanche terrain. Do not overlook smaller terrain features!
The photo is of an avalanche on an east aspect below treeline on February 3 near Marble, in the Aspen Zone. A backcountry snowboarder triggered and was caught in the slide. He was buried to his shoulders. The avalanche was triggered on a slope that sees lots of backcountry traffic–you can see recent and older tracks on the lower-angled slopes in the foreground. You can imagine how easy it would be to climb a little further above the bench, for a few more turns, because the slope is only slightly steeper.
On many days that choice might not result in an avalanche. When avalanche conditions are very dangerous, those few degrees in steepness, the slightly more drifting near the ridge, or the small terrain features we often overlook can make all the difference.
