iStockphoto / boggy22
Three snowboarders in Colorado triggered an avalanche and are lucky to be alive. One of them was briefly buried in snow after being swallowed by the avalanche but somehow all three made it away from the incident in good health.
The Rocky Mountain National Park avalanche was captured on video by one of the three snowboarders, offering a unique and quasi-terrifying perspective of what it is like to ride out an avalanche.
Colorado Snowboarders Capture Avalanche Footage
The footage was shared by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center as a way to raise awareness for how quickly things can change in the backcountry. On Instagram, they wrote “What a beautiful day! And tomorrow will be a warmer version of today. People are out enjoying the new snow and reports of human-triggered avalanches are coming in.”
Adding “while there are many places you can travel safely, you need to be aware of where you could trigger an avalanche that could injure you or worse. In the places with a deeper snowpack, such as in the Park Range, Elk and West Elk Mountains, you can trigger the largest avalanches. In other places, the avalanches you might trigger will be smaller, but still potentially dangerous in consequential terrain.”
This occurred in Haiyaha Couloir in Rocky Mountain National Park. Ski cutting the upper chute triggered a Wind Slab avalanche with an estimated 8-14″ crown. One of the snowboarders dislocated his shoulder while grabbing onto a tree during the sliding of the avalanche.
Check it out:
The video is also available on YouTube Shorts for those that would prefer YTS over Instagram, though I’m partial to the former.
For anyone snowboarding in remote regions of Colorado, the state offers constantly updated guidance on avalanche conditions, where to avoid, and survival advice in case of an emergency.
Just visit Colorado.gov/avalanche and navigate to the ‘Field Reports’ section for the latest information pertaining to your area before any remote snowboarding trip.