Mt Flora/Colorado Mines Avalanche

[Chicago Transplant]

Over the weekend there was a hiker triggered slide on the north side of Colorado Mines Peak that slid all the way to the ground. The individual who triggered it went for a ride, but was otherwise unburied, uninjured, and able to walk out with assistance from SAR. It is a reminder that even peaks that are "winter safe" can quickly no longer be safe when off route. The summer trail for Flora happens to traverse around 12k just over top of an avalanche path known as "Mines 2" and is likely where the slide occurred. It is safer when climbing Flora to go up and over Colorado Mines Peak in both directions and not take the summer trail. The winter route basically follows the county line straight up.

This is the case on other peaks as well, Grays/Torreys the summer trail crosses a slide path, and the summer trail heading to the Democrat/Cameron saddle goes under a slide path as well. Many summer trails are not safe in winter and safe winter travel requires altering the route by leaving a wide berth from the avalanche slopes. Be careful out there everyone!

https://classic.avalanche.state.co.us/c ... s_id=72503

Screen shot from CalTopo with slope shading:

MinePeak.jpg (202.77 KiB) Viewed 1734 times

[Trotter]

a good safety reminder

[daway8]

Yep, tis the season for everyone to refresh their avy knowledge - remember to turn on the Slope Angle overlay on the map, check out the satellite views for signs of previous run paths, maybe even use Google Earth historic satellite views to hunt down the less frequent slide paths and of course check out the CAIC forecast and keep track of how much snow comes down in the days leading up to your hike.

Little precautions like that (plus taking an avy class in person or at least some online training) could save your life and/or the lives of others on the mountain.

Screenshot_20221206-190514.png (1.06 MiB) Viewed 1393 times

[gzrrnnr]

We were doing winter peaks 50+ years ago, and must have been lucky to have survived without all the gadgetry. We looked at the slope and turned around if we thought it was not safe. Now the gadgetry is a requirement before mountaineers go up high. Hope the batteries don't run down before you get to the hill....

[daway8]

We were doing winter peaks 50+ years ago, and must have been lucky to have survived without all the gadgetry. We looked at the slope and turned around if we thought it was not safe. Now the gadgetry is a requirement before mountaineers go up high. Hope the batteries don't run down before you get to the hill....

That's awesome and a really cool memory to look back on!

I seem to recall hearing that the Aztecs used to do brain surgery, without all the gadgetry. Some folks might prefer that approach. Personally I'll stick with the latest technology if I ever need brain surgery.

And there are a multitude of solutions in today's world for dealing with the battery issue. In my modest 2.5 or so decades of climbing I can count on one hand the number of times I've had issues with batteries - and I've always been able to resolve those issues on the trail.

So if going old school is your thing, more power to you! Some of us comparatively younger folks could probably benefit from the practical knowledge folks like you have built up over the years, but you might just be surprised at what technology can do for you today...

Personally, I don't want to drive for 4+ hours on my limited time off work just to have to look at a slope and then turn around because it's not safe. Today's technology can significantly enhance that odds of finding a route that's safely doable on a given weekend, thus making it more likely that I'll successfully summit.

But to each their own...

[swetnesss]

Sometimes I feel like Alltrails is to blame for these types of incidents. I’ve come across a few people who were semi lost or ill prepared due to Alltrails recommendations. One couple doing their first 14er on grays peak but alltrails told them the standard route started at peru creek. People hiking up to alpine lakes in the fall and spring only to find them frozen over and covered in feet of snow. And also cars getting stuck trying to get to the summer trailhead in winter.

[Scott P]

Sometimes I feel like Alltrails is to blame for these types of incidents. I’ve come across a few people who were semi lost or ill prepared due to Alltrails recommendations. One couple doing their first 14er on grays peak but alltrails told them the standard route started at peru creek. People hiking up to alpine lakes in the fall and spring only to find them frozen over and covered in feet of snow. And also cars getting stuck trying to get to the summer trailhead in winter.

I don't use Alltrails, but it's silly to blame an app for people getting in accidents. You shouldn't need an app to tell you that a slope is prone to avalanche, that alpine lakes are frozen in the spring, nor should you need one to tell you not to drive through snowdrifts.

[HarkNeal]

I don't use Alltrails, but it's silly to blame an app for people getting in accidents. You shouldn't need an app to tell you that a slope is prone to avalanche, that alpine lakes are frozen in the spring, nor should you need one to tell you not to drive through snowdrifts.

AllTrails isn't the sole reason why n00bs get themselves into trouble, but it definitely plays a part. I haven't checked the stats, but it's one of the top smartphone hiking apps (if not the outright #1), and for years their content moderation was total . Anybody could create a trail anywhere, and it would immediately be visible to the entire world. You had "trails" on private property, "trails" that were misnamed and/or amalgamations of several trails, and people would just upload rando GPS tracks and call it a trail. They've gotten better with their moderation and curation, but it's still pretty damn awful. AllTrails makes it easy for people who don't necessarily know what they're doing to make a decision based on tons of pretty pics and a "trail," and they head out totally unprepared. I always suggest using it as a resource, but it shouldn't ever be the final one.

FWIW, I updated the trail description for Flora on Hiking Project after this incident to highlight the avvy danger in winter. Waiting for my edit to be approved.

[CORed]

Sometimes I feel like Alltrails is to blame for these types of incidents. I’ve come across a few people who were semi lost or ill prepared due to Alltrails recommendations. One couple doing their first 14er on grays peak but alltrails told them the standard route started at peru creek. People hiking up to alpine lakes in the fall and spring only to find them frozen over and covered in feet of snow. And also cars getting stuck trying to get to the summer trailhead in winter.

I don't use Alltrails, but it's silly to blame an app for people getting in accidents. You shouldn't need an app to tell you that a slope is prone to avalanche, that alpine lakes are frozen in the spring, nor should you need one to tell you not to drive through snowdrifts.

Blindly following any app, whether it's Alltrails for hiking, or Google Maps for driving is likely to get you in trouble sooner or later. You've got to pay attention to the real world, and if the app is telling you to go somewhere that doesn't make sense, don't go there.