Sunday 3/24, 7pm at the Public House 202 Elk Ave. Join us for a panel discussion with past snow safety directors and local legends from the Grand Traverse. Learn about the history of the race, the efforts to keep everyone safe, and all the associated tall tales. Lots of great stories, most of them true!
The weekly summary is here. Easterly winds led to some unusual drifting, and persistent slab avalanche activity has quieted down. The possibility is still there, as shown in a recent remote trigger above the Slate River (pictured below). We don’t have a spring snowpack quite yet, stay heads up.
The weekly summary is here. Backcountry riders are least likely to affect weak layers where the snowpack is deeper. Most recent human-triggered avalanches have occurred in places where the snowpack is shallower, less than 180 cm total depth.
The weekly summary is here. We’ve been bobbing back and forth between blizzard and spring-like conditions recently, with more of this pattern on the way. Snowpit tests continue to show the 2/2 and 2/13 weak layers as the main potential points of failure in the upper snowpack.
Join us for another Fireside Chat, this time with American Mountaineering legend George Lowe. 6pm, Sunday March 3rd, Mallardi Theater, 403 2nd Street CB.
The weekly summary is here. The 2/2 PWL still produces avalanches throughout the zone, with the slab depth variable above. Avalanche danger dropped in the deepest part of the forecasting area, while it is still easy to affect the 2/2 PWL in shallower snowpacks. Cornice fall was on the rise with recent wind events and warm-ups. New snow is expected on Sunday night (2/25)! 
The weekly summary is here. The community mourns the loss of a precious life in an avalanche accident. A persistent weak layer buried 2/2 serves as the point of failure on many avalanches in the forecasting zone this past week. Snow continues to fall, periodically enveloping the valley in white.
A backcountry skier was caught, buried, and killed in an area of the Anthracite Range locally known as the Playground (east of Ohio Peak). The skier’s partners were able to locate and extricate him from the avalanche debris, but he died from injuries sustained in the avalanche.
The skier was caught in a small avalanche that broke one to two feet deep above a cliff band. He pulled his airbag and was carried over the cliff. Below the cliff a deeper and much broader avalanche released. It broke on a layer of buried surface hoar two to three feet deep. The combined flow of debris from both avalanches carried the skier through trees and completely buried him on the slope below.
Our condolences go out to the friends, family, and everyone involved in this incident.
CAIC and CBAC staff visited the accident site on February 12, 2024. A summary report is here.
Weekly summary is here. The new snow lends to nice turns in the mountains around the valley! Bring an extra dose of caution to the backcountry right now, as a newly buried persistent weak layer has been catching people off guard.
