CBAC staff will be at the Ohio Pass Trailhead this Saturday, January 14th providing up-to-the-minute reports and conditions from the backcountry. Stop and say “hey” and grab a free map, snacks, rescue cards and stickers.
New Encyclopedia on Avalanche.org
We’re excited to announce the release of a completely new encyclopedia on avalanche.org. We think it’s a great resource for learning or refreshing your avalanche knowledge, with over 250 terms organized into sections relating to avalanches, snowpack, terrain, weather, and human factors. CBAC lead forecaster Zach Guy authored this project with contributions and revisions from the National Avalanche Center, the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, and the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center. The American Avalanche Association and the National Avalanche Center orchestrated and funded the project.
Here’s the link, which is also under our resources tab: https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encyclopedia/
New Accidents Map
We just published an interactive accidents map that allows users to explore and read reports of avalanche fatalities, injuries, and burials in the Crested Butte forecast area as a learning resource. You can access the map under the “Resources” tab on our website, or at this link. Although we did our best to dig up old accident accounts, some of our records may be incomplete.
Trailhead Day #4-Snodgrass TH
CBAC will be at the Snodgrass Trailhead this Saturday, December 31st. We are sending out 2022 with a bang as the Atmospheric River has returned! Come out for the latest avalanche conditions, friendly banter, maps, stickers, snacks, music and more.
The Backcountry Podcast
Executive Director Than Acuff recaps where the CBAC came from and where it is going in this exciting new Podcast from Backcountry Magazine.
To help the cause donate here or can the QR code on the banner.
The CBAC’s budget is dependent on donations from our users. CBAC receives minimal governmental support, so your donation is critical in supporting a locally generated avalanche and weather forecast, seven days per week, all winter long. We do it every day!
Holiday Special: Apres Ski Premier
Join the CBAC and local Olympian Aaron Blunck for the Holiday Special Après ski premier hosted by Epic Western Cocktails. We will be premiering two films “The Bulldog” and Head Skis “Feel Real” by Blank Collective.
Where: Elevation Hotel and Spa
When: Dec. 23rd 2022 4-7 pm
After party from 8-11 p.m. at Talk of the Town
Family friendly, Raffle prizes, silent auction, Films, Poster Signing, Epic Western Cocktails, all proceeds will be donated to Living Journeys and the Crested Butte Avalanche Center.
Trailhead Day #3-Slate River TH
Join CBAC and Irwin Guides for this special event with free beacon skills training. Come by anytime from 9:00am to 2:00pm for the latest information on snowpack, conditions, local maps, and snacks or to chat about anything backcountry related. At 10:00 am, 11:00 am and 12:00 pm, Irwin guides training staff will be available for free 1-hour beacons skills training. No sign-up is necessary, show up with your over-snow gear and rescue equipment. If you don’t have rescue gear, we will have beacons, shovels and probes on hand to borrow. Email cbavalanche@gmail.com with any questions about the event.
CBAC 2021/22 Annual Report
CBAC’s 2021/22 Annual Report is available for download here or in the PDF viewer below. The report relives a winter of feast or famine and highlights the outreach and operational accomplishments of the CBAC. We also recognize the many sponsors, donors, and partners who are critical to our mission. Thank you!
CBAC_AnnualReport_2021_22_2
Observation contest winner!
Thanks to everyone for coming out to our appreciation party at the Talk of the Town last Friday! Congrats to Travis Colbert, who won the observation contest earning himself a new pair of Weston skis for submitting the most observations this season.
IT’S SNOWING! Have fun, stay safe.
New avalanche visualization tools
We’re excited to announce the release two new data visualization tools that we have been developing over the winter. These products come from the collaborative volunteer efforts of Reggie Park and Michael Futch. We owe them a huge thank you. Currently, the tools are best suited for desktop computer use. We are working on making them mobile-friendly this summer. The links are accessible from our desktop homepage under the Observations->Avalanches tab on the top menu. Our original avalanche rose, which is mobile-friendly, is still available on the website under the “hamburger” menu.
The first new tool is an avalanche rose with filters. https://cbavalanchecenter.org/avalanche-rose/
Each dot on the rose represents an observed avalanche. Dots are color-coded by a number of user-selected filters, such as avalanche type, trigger, forecast zone, or failure interface. Dots are sized according to the avalanche’s destructive size, and shaded by how recent they are relative to today. Note that the dots are randomly placed within the aspect/elevation octant that the avalanche originated from. Thus, dot placement is not a precise azimuth or altitude, but rather, a general location within the boundaries of that octant. If you mouse hover over each avalanche dot, it will provide additional information and a link to the original observation. Use the time scale slider to filter by date. Another important caveat is that the rose only shows avalanche activity that we observe and document, which is not a comprehensive tally of backcountry avalanches. Our avalanche observations tend to be biased by the terrain that we have better views of or visit more often. For example, we have very good vantages of a lot of east and northeast facing paths from town, such as Climax Chutes, Happy Chutes, and Schuylkill Ridge, whereas we don’t have as many views of northwest or west facing avalanche terrain, such as the west side of the Ruby Range.
The second tool is our avalanche table. https://data.cbavalanchecenter.org/table.php
The avalanche table allows you to filter, sort, and search for avalanche activity by any number of variables, such as size, elevation, aspect, etc. You can also export your filtered results as a PDF or excel sheet.
