Spring avalanche danger looms in high country

BY PAOLO ZIALCITA COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Conditions across the state are warming, and in the mountains, that means more avalanche hazards.

e chance of “wet avalanches” increases when snowpack melts in the springtime. ose types of avalanches occur when layers of snow beneath the surface become unstable due to increased moisture. Colorado’s snowpack is 38 percentage points higher than the median for this time of year, according to the National Water and Climate Center. at means there’s even more potential runo than normal.

Brian Lazar, deputy director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, said the high amount of snow that’s fallen this winter has contributed to the high risk of wet avalanches. e state’s high-elevation areas have received snowfall as recently as the nal week of April.

“As that cold snow warms up and sees sun after the storm leaves, it will tend to sheet o the underlying crust and produce kind of long-running wet avalanche activity, which is also what we saw over the last couple days,” Lazar said.

Lazar said wet avalanche activity will likely drop o once higher temperatures become more consistent and snowpack melts, but there will still be plenty of risk for backcountry skiers and other outdoor recreators in the coming weeks. He said anyone going out into the snow should be extra careful.

“Outside of checking your fore- cast, you want to make sure you’re still carrying your minimum required rescue gear, which includes an avalanche transceiver, a shovel, and a probe,” Lazar said. is story via Colorado Public Radio, a Colorado Community Media content partner. animal. e plan outlines many nonlethal interventions to discourage wolves from killing livestock and it does allow the killing of wolves caught in the act of attacking livestock, saying both the stakeholder and technical groups viewed lethal management “as being critically important to a successful wolf management program.” e federal wildlife service has expedited its review and expects to issue a nal Environmental Impact Statement by December. Legislation introduced in the Colorado Senate in March — Senate Bill 256 — prohibits introduction of gray wolves in Colorado until that 10(j) analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act is complete.

A man died near Breckinridge over the weekend after he was caught in a slide, becoming Colorado’s 11th avalanche fatality this snow season. One more recreational fatality will tie the state’s all-time record, set in 1993.

Mike Samson, a four-term Gar eld County commissioner, spoke during public comment before the agency’s commissioners began reviewing the nal plan, saying the wolf restoration was “Colorado voters attempting to be Mother Nature” and “ballot-box biology.” He urged the commissioners to allow lethal taking of wolves, pointing to Idaho, where lawmakers have approved legislation allowing for killing up to 90% of the state’s estimated 1,500 wolves.

( e Colorado plan does not allow hunting, but the adaptive management strategy leaves open most management options in future years as wolf populations grow.)

“Wolves need to be legally hunted and trapped to keep their numbers in check,” Samson said.

Representatives for cattlemen groups urged the commissioners to approve compensation for ranchers who spend money on wolf mitigation, not just those who lose livestock to the predators.

Many public speakers asked the commissioners where they plan to get wolves to relocate into Colorado. e state’s plan calls for capturing wild gray wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. e draft plan says Colorado has “begun to explore an agreement” with the three states. A recent report by 9News quoted ofcials in each state saying there were no discussions with Colorado about donating wolves. e draft plan also says Colorado “has also begun to explore an agreement” with Washington and Oregon. e 9News report also quoted o cials in Oregon and Washington saying they were not working with Colorado on sourcing wolves for restoration in the state. is story from e Colorado Sun, www.ColoradoSun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, which owns Colorado Community Media.