News
Avalanches are most commonly seen as a threat to people who are playing outside in snow-covered mountains.
But an avalanche on Monday that damaged a restaurant at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is a reminder that slides can also threaten structures, cars and even entire towns.
A big 2003 blizzard in Colorado that began on St. Patrick’s Day closed Interstate 70 for a few days and damaged a few structures, including Silver Plume’s water-treatment plant.
The same storm trapped 250 skiers and employees at Eldora Ski Area when slides blocked the access road to the area.
A storm cycle in February of 1995 caused an estimated $650,000 of damage across the Colorado mountains, according to Knox Williams, retired director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Damage included the destruction of concrete buildings at a campground along Maroon Creek, near Aspen, destruction of a $300,000 summer home near Crested Butte and damage to 40 parked snowmobiles, also near Crested Butte.
The same avalanche cycle also knocked several box cars off a railroad track near Tennessee Pass and did $100,000 worth of damage to water-control structures along Homestake Creek.
In February of 1986, a large cycle of avalanches blocked I-70 for the first time since it was built. Slides also ran across U.S. 6 near Loveland Pass, damaged a chairlift at Arapahoe Basin ski area and damaged buildings at the Climax molybdenum mine near Fremont Pass.
Avalanches have caused havoc around the world.
In February of 1999, the Austrian village of Galtür was nearly wiped off the map by a massive avalanche that killed 31 people. That same winter, avalanches killed people and destroyed numerous homes in the Swiss and French Alps. In one French town, police launched an investigation into the accident, implicating government planners who permitted construction of slopeside chalets in slide-prone terrain.
In March of 1982, a huge avalanche swept down the entire front face of Alpine Meadows Ski Area in California, destroying the resort’s base lodge and killing seven people.
And in May of 1965, a wet snowslide released on a face above hotel on the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak, sweeping across the deck and killing 10 tourists. That accident prompted the establishment of an avalanche forecasting and warning service for the German Alps.
The list goes on, including numerous historic Summit County avalanches that brought death and destruction to the mining camps scattered around the local mountains.
But an avalanche on Monday that damaged a restaurant at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is a reminder that slides can also threaten structures, cars and even entire towns.
A big 2003 blizzard in Colorado that began on St. Patrick’s Day closed Interstate 70 for a few days and damaged a few structures, including Silver Plume’s water-treatment plant.
The same storm trapped 250 skiers and employees at Eldora Ski Area when slides blocked the access road to the area.
A storm cycle in February of 1995 caused an estimated $650,000 of damage across the Colorado mountains, according to Knox Williams, retired director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Damage included the destruction of concrete buildings at a campground along Maroon Creek, near Aspen, destruction of a $300,000 summer home near Crested Butte and damage to 40 parked snowmobiles, also near Crested Butte.
The same avalanche cycle also knocked several box cars off a railroad track near Tennessee Pass and did $100,000 worth of damage to water-control structures along Homestake Creek.
In February of 1986, a large cycle of avalanches blocked I-70 for the first time since it was built. Slides also ran across U.S. 6 near Loveland Pass, damaged a chairlift at Arapahoe Basin ski area and damaged buildings at the Climax molybdenum mine near Fremont Pass.
Avalanches have caused havoc around the world.
In February of 1999, the Austrian village of Galtür was nearly wiped off the map by a massive avalanche that killed 31 people. That same winter, avalanches killed people and destroyed numerous homes in the Swiss and French Alps. In one French town, police launched an investigation into the accident, implicating government planners who permitted construction of slopeside chalets in slide-prone terrain.
In March of 1982, a huge avalanche swept down the entire front face of Alpine Meadows Ski Area in California, destroying the resort’s base lodge and killing seven people.
And in May of 1965, a wet snowslide released on a face above hotel on the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak, sweeping across the deck and killing 10 tourists. That accident prompted the establishment of an avalanche forecasting and warning service for the German Alps.
The list goes on, including numerous historic Summit County avalanches that brought death and destruction to the mining camps scattered around the local mountains.
