A skier makes his way around avalanche debris in Velocity Basin. Backcountry skiing and avalanche risk go hand in hand in the often volatile snowpack of the San Juans, making resources like the Colorado Avalanche Information Center an invaluable tool in the skier’s bag of tricks./Photo by Steve Eginoire

'Tis the season to be avi savvy

Colorado Avalanche Info Center hosts fundraiser/awareness event

by Joy Martin

As soon as they fit in the back of their parents’ packs, active kids in Durango sport enviable outdoor clothing and gear. Eventually, these tots gain independence from the pack and begin running and pedaling amuck and earning tattoos of the great outdoors that decorate their elbows, knees, palms and foreheads.

“Scrapes and scars are character builders and make for fantastic stories,” might be a bumper sticker on the back of soccer-mom Subarus seen around town.

Not that these moms are taking their kids to just soccer. On the contrary, these kids have their parents to thank for raising them in a town that encourages family outings to Moab for mountain biking or screaming down Chapman Hill and Purgatory on a pair of skis they probably waxed themselves.

And their parents aren’t the usual soccer moms of suburbia but rather gnar shredders too, albeit educating their little ones to be smart and not stupid whilst shredding.

Durango kids learn early on about gear, safety and the deepening of relationships that occurs off the beaten path in the mighty San Juan Mountains. They grow up seeking bigger adventures than those of us who grew up in, say, Mississippi or Wisconsin.

“Nepal is the new Rocky Mountain National Park for these kids,” laughs Karen Carver, a local mother who raised her three children to ski, bike and play in Durango. She’s from Wisconsin.

She recalls speaking with Durango native Nate Klema before he set out for a year-long kayak expedition across Asia this summer with four other guys, two of whom are also Durangoans. “Durango kids want to know what’s out there. They’re people persons.”

Basically, they go with buddies and look for adventure out of bounds.

Sometimes, unfortunately, these excursions force kids to grow up faster than they should. On Feb. 2, 2013, Klema, 23 at the time, was skiing in the backcountry near Silverton with buddies John Duncan Rothwell, 53, and Carver’s son, Peter, also 23. Around 1:30 that afternoon, warm weather triggered an avalanche that swept down the slope where the guys were touring, pinning Rothwell against a tree and leaving him with multiple injuries. Peter was buried 5 feet under the slide and did not survive.

These guys knew what they were doing. They were not only trained by parents and mentors over the years on how to interact with mountainous habitats but were also equipped with the appropriate gear and knowledge. But sometimes, it’s more than science, and accidents happen.

Carver doesn’t let that stop her from enjoying the fresh snow that fell on Durango and the surrounding region this weekend. “Whether you’re in town or looking at Missionary Ridge or way up in the mountains, it’s so amazingly beautiful. How could you not want to be out there?”

And so, November till April, we wake up early in the cold to don waterproof, insulated layers and venture into the backcountry to relish the elements we love so much.

Backcountry activity accounts for the largest growing segment of the snow-sports market across the nation. According to SnowSports Industries America, retail shops sold $32.5 million in alpine touring boots last season, up 179 percent from 2011. 

“We definitely see more traffic each year from people seeking backcountry setups,” says Nick Martin, Marketing Director for Pine Needle Mountaineering.

His advice for safely enjoying a day in the mountains: “Take a class and take a friend.”

Friends definitely increase not only the fun factor but also aid in making good decisions when it comes to evaluating avalanche potential. And one can never take too many Level I or II avalanche safety courses, especially when encountering Colorado’s greatest natural disaster.

In the 2012-13 season, slides claimed 11 skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, climbers and hikers both in the backcountry and inbounds.

Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) forecaster Josh Hirshberg says that these powerful forces are often a mix of three key ingredients: terrain, snowpack and trigger. His suggestion for judging a sound environment is simple. “Choose terrain that will keep you safe that day,” he advises.

Hirshberg, who works for the San Juan zone of the CAIC, spends four early mornings a week skiing out to observation sites above Silverton, Telluride and surrounding areas. He then compares notes with fellow forecasters so the most accurate information can be posted on the CAIC website by 7:30 a.m. each day.

This serious-minded information system serves as Colorado’s most effective and efficient educational tool for backcountry travelers, providing detailed narration, mountain-weather forecasting and avalanche  conditions.

Founded in 1973, the CAIC is the country’s oldest avalanche forecast program. This small team of snow scientists includes 15 forecasters in 10 zones throughout Colorado whose job is to minimize the impacts of avalanches, not just on recreationists but society in general. What makes the CAIC’s complicated beta accessible to the average Joe is that the organization is comprised of true outdoorsmen, such as Hirshberg.

The CAIC has two forecasting programs: highway forecasting and backcountry forecasting. Funds for these programs come from three major players. The Colorado Department of Transportation pays for the highway forecasters, while the Department of Natural Resources supports a quarter of the backcountry division. And most critically, the crux of the Center’s budget comes from Friends of CAIC, the indispensable fundraising arm for the organization. Friends raises support through grants, corporate donations and events, such as the impending fifth annual CAIC Benefit Brew Ha-Ha, which takes place Wed., Dec. 4, at the Durango Discovery Museum. For the last five years, Pine Needle Mountaineering has served as the reigning sponsor for the evening. The event traditionally garners an average of $5,000 for the San Juan division of the CAIC.

These dollars aid in providing citizens of Southwest Colorado with avalanche forecasting for Red Mountain, Molas, Coalbank and Lizard Head passes, as well as other areas of the San Juan backcountry. Numerous opportunities for education throughout the winter season also abound through avalanche safety courses, snowmobile and ski club meetings, and local school presentations. In addition to avalanche forecasting, money raised will also go to the new CAIC website, due to launch in the next few weeks, and its latest endeavor to educate and inspire kids to “know before they go.”

Event coordinator, CAIC’s Executive Director Aaron Carlson explains that the younger generation is venturing out-of-bounds at resorts, and it’s therefore imperative to empower them with knowledge to make good decisions in the backcountry.

The Utah Avalanche Center, for example, currently reaches 15,000 students, an audience in Colorado that is largely untapped.

“(Colorado) has an incredibly tricky snowpack and one that can be totally different from zone to zone,” he says. “It is imperative that we have an avalanche center that can manage these differences. The more money we raise for them, the better off they are and the better data we, the backcountry users, will get.”

Silent auctions and giveaways are the bread-and-butter of the fundraiser, which relies heavily on donations from local vendors to provide a boatload of appealing items for bidders, shredders, and parents of lil’ shredders in attendance that evening.

This year’s big ticket items include a pair of Dynastar skis and a day of guided skiing at Silverton Mountain, among other backcountry accessories and clothing. Raffles and giveaways  throughout the evening provide nonbidders an opportunity to win something awesome as well. Attendees will also get the chance to meet the faces behind the voices on the avi forecast line. But before the party gets too crazy, Hirshberg and other instructors will present brief, avalanche-related topics relevant to both newbies and seasoned veterans.

When asked how the 2013-14 season was shaping up, Hirshberg speculated as weathermen often do. “It’s hard to forecast long term, but if we get lots of snow through December, then we should be set up for a good winter.” 

Brew Ha-Ha revelers may also chat with landscape architect Paul Wilbert to learn more about Peter’s Forest, a memorial planting of trees for Peter Carver at the top of Chapman Hill. The goal of the project – spearheaded by Wilbert, the Carver family, the City of Durango, James Ranch and Trails 2000 – it to help retain snow, provide shade in the summer, and naturally soften the visual impact of this city park where so many local kids first learn to shred.

But most of all, the party is for all snow-revelers who, in the face of harsh statistics awaiting us when we step out the front door, can’t help but relate to Karen Carver’s sentiments of pressing on into each day with childlike, fearless fervor: “The range of human emotions is best reflected out-of-doors. There is no place for anger. And it is good to feel small, for it expands the soul.”

Check out the latest backcountry snow conditions and weather at https://avalanche.state.co.us/index.php