High winds, warm temperatures equal avalanche danger
Story By: Mark Hanrahan
Source: KOAA
Snow, wind and a change in temperature is a combination, Skee Hipszky would rather not see. "That's a bad mixture, that's one of the reasons that Colorado leads the United States in avalanche fatalities." But, the veteran of El Paso County Search and Rescue team says they're are conditions not uncommon to Colorado.
As of nine o'clock Saturday night, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center had nearly the entire frontrange listed as "considerable." Friday, a back country skier was killed in an avalanche near the Vail Ski Resort.
Similar conditions that gripped the Pikes Peak Region Saturday, were listed as one of the causes of an avalanche last year on Pikes Peak. The slide left portions of the highway covered in as much as ten feet of snow. Luckily, nobody was injured.
"Standard gear for back country travel would be an avalanche beacon." said Matt Chmielarczyk. Chmeilarczyk works at the Mountain Chalet on Tejon Street in Colorado Springs and is also an experienced alpinist. He says the basics for back country hiking or skiing include: an avalanche beacon, which would be worn by all the hikers in your party. The beacons transmit and recieve a signal, which would lead hikers to a burried person in their party. Chmeilarczyk also recomends carrying a sturdy shovel to dig a person out. If you're buried, you don't have much time. "After fifteen minutes, you're chances of survival of an avalanche go way down."
You can get the latest statewide avalanche conditions by calling the Colorado Avalanche Information Center at 520-0020.
