West Elk and Sawatch Mountains storm history

Avalanche danger on the day of the accident was rated at Moderate to Considerable. A group of backcountry skiers planned to ski a steep basin on the east end of Ohio Peak, known locally as The Playground. The group triggered several small avalanches remotely over the course of th…

An avalanche caught three backcountry recreationists (two skiers, one splitboarder) in the upper Rapid Creek, southwest of the town of Marble, Colorado. Two members of the group were caught up in the avalanche and one was completely buried in over 4 feet of snow and debris. One m…

A group of backcountry snowshoers accidentally triggered an avalanche while hiking to a private backcountry home in the Yule Creek area of West-Central Colorado. Three of the hikers and two dogs were caught in the avalanche with one hiker and the two dogs buried. Two others were …

The avalanche began as a wet-loose avalanche triggered by a backcountry skier. The wet-loose avalanche was only a few inches deep, and spread to 150 feet wide at the widest point. The avalanche carried the skier downhill and over a cliff, triggering a second wet-loose avalanche t…

Two people were clearing snow from a low-angled roof south of Crested Butte when the snow avalanched. Both individuals were caught and buried for around 10 minutes until someone noticed the avalanche. After emergency services arrived, the first person was dug out and survived. Th…

A pair of back country skiers were skinning up a steep mountain after a recent winter storm brought 1 to 2 feet of new snow to the area. The new snow fell on top of an unstable snow pack from earlier winter storms. The skiers were apparently together in the middle of the slope wh…

The last in a group of 4 skiers triggered a shallow avalanche along a slope favorable for releases due to a weakened snow pack. This shallow slide triggered a larger avalanche that broke to the surface. This larger avalanche carried the skier approximately 250 vertical feet down …

Sometime during the afternoon, a 36 year old male snowboarder was caught and killed in an avalanche approximately 2 miles northwest of Crested Butte. The soft slab avalanche occurred in an area known as Happy Chutes. The avalanche ran about 1,500 vertical feet, carrying the victi…

The Lowline Fire started in late July from lightning in the Gunnison National Forest, 11 miles southwest of Crested Butte, Colorado. The fire grew to 1,999 acres before it was contained in early December.

The Lowline Fire started in late July from lightning in the Gunnison National Forest, 11 miles southwest of Crested Butte, Colorado. The fire grew to 1,999 acres before it was contained in early December.

The Lowline Fire started in late July from lightning in the Gunnison National Forest, 11 miles southwest of Crested Butte, Colorado. The fire grew to 1,999 acres before it was contained in early December.

The Lowline Fire started in late July from lightning in the Gunnison National Forest, 11 miles southwest of Crested Butte, Colorado. The fire grew to 1,999 acres before it was contained in early December.

The Lowline Fire started in late July from lightning in the Gunnison National Forest, 11 miles southwest of Crested Butte, Colorado. The fire grew to 1,999 acres before it was contained in early December.

The Lowline Fire started in late July from lightning in the Gunnison National Forest, 11 miles southwest of Crested Butte, Colorado. The fire grew to 1,999 acres before it was contained in early December.

Generally 4 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts up to 13.2 inches at Schofield Pass. 8 inches of snow was reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N.

The KMYP AWOS at Monarch Pass recorded a gust to 83 mph at 8:15 PM MST, with additional gusts between 65-75 mph recorded in the hour leading up to the peak gust. Widespread gusts of 50-60 mph were recorded across the zone throughout the day. No reports of injuries, fatalities, or…

Generally 6 to 13 inches of snow fell across the area with 13 inches of snow reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N.

Generally 4 to 7 inches of snow fell across the area with 9 inches reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N.

Generally 6 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with 12 inches at Schofield Pass. Winds gusted in the 45 to 53 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 53 mph at Cinnamon Mountain.

Generally 6 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with 12 inches at Schofield Pass. Winds gusted in the 45 to 53 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 53 mph at Cinnamon Mountain.

Generally 5 to 11 inches of snow fell across the area with 11 inches at Schofield Pass. 8.3 inches of snow was reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N. Winds gusted in the 45 to 50 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 53 mph at Irwin Ski.

The US Drought Monitor removed the last area of Extreme (D3) Drought from Colorado Zone 012 - West Elk and Sawatch Mountains on October 14th, 2025. Extreme (D3) Drought did not reoccur for a month. Therefore this will be the last entry for this zone until such time as Extreme (D3…

At approximately 3:35 PM MDT on the 4th, the Monarch Pass AWOS recorded a gust to 79 mph. This was the peak gust of the day, but other high elevation gusts reached or exceeded 75 throughout the day. No reports of injuries, damages, or fatalities were received in association with …

At the beginning of the month of October, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought as covering roughly 20% of Colorado Zone 012 - West Elk and Sawatch Mountains. Severe (D2) Drought covered 60% of the zone, while the remaining 20% was under Moderate (D1) Dr…

At the beginning of the month of September, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Exceptional (D4) Drought that covered roughly 20% of Colorado Zone 012 - West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, with the remaining 80% of the zone seeing Extreme (D3) Drought conditions. With the 9/3 …

At the beginning of the month of August, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions as covering roughly 75% of Colorado Zone 012 - West Elk and Sawatch Mountains. With the 8/13/25 US Drought Monitor update, the extent of the drought remained unchan…

The US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought in Colorado Zone 012 - West Elk and Sawatch Mountains. With the continued hot and dry conditions during the month of July, this zone saw a significant expansion in areal coverage with the July 16th Drought Monitor up…

Extreme (D3) Drought conditions have only been analyzed along the far northwestern portion of the zone. However, that area remained largely unchanged during the month of June.

Beginning on May 27th, the US Drought Monitor expanded an area of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions into the far western portion of the West Elk and Sawatch Mountains (CO Zone 012). This area covers less than 10% of the zone, and remained unchanged from the 27th through the end of …

Per the CAIC forecast for the day of the incident, the overall avalanche threat in the area of the incident was rated as Moderate (2/5), with Low (1/5) being the lowest threat and Extreme (5/5) being the highest. The breakdown at different elevation bands gave Moderate (2/5) thre…

Generally 6 to 10 inches of snow fell across the area. Wind gusts were in the 40 to 65 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 67 mph at Cinnamon Mountain at 4/17 22:15.

Generally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell across the area.

Generally 4 to 10 inches of snow fell across the area with 9 inches of snow reported at McClure Pass. Winds generally gusted in the 60 to 80 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 96 mph at Irwin Guides Ridge Top on April 1 at 4:00.

The Carbonate Hill mesonet site, located above 12000 feet in elevation, recorded a gust to 75 mph at approximately 2AM local time on the morning of April 1st. Wind gusts across the zone during the morning hours of April 1st ranged from 45 mph up to the peak gust of 75 mph. No rep…

Generally 5 to 10 inches of snow fell across the area with 10.5 inches of snow reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N. Winds generally gusted in the 45 to 55 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 58 mph at Irwin Guides Ridge Top.

Generally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell across the area with 7 inches reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N. Winds generally gusted in the 70 to 80 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 83 mph at Cinnamon Mountain at the storm onset.

Generally 4 to 10 inches of snow fell across the area with 9 inches reported at McClure Pass. Winds generally gusted in the 45 to 65 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 69 mph at Cinnamon Mountain on March 14 at 3:45.

This injurious avalanche occurred south of the town of Marble, CO, off of a terrain feature know as Raspberry Ridge, in a run known locally as Money Shot. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) rated the avalanche danger in this area as Considerable (3/5) near and above…

Generally 8 to 15 inches of snow fell across the area with up to 19 inches at Schofield Pass. Winds generally gusted in the 50 to 80 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 87 mph at Cinnamon Mountain on March 6 at 19:30.

Generally 6 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with 7 inches reported at McClure Pass. Wind gusts were in the 45 to 55 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 59 mph at Cinnamon Mountain.

Generally 14 to 30 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts up to 43 inches at Schofield Pass. 37 inches of snow was reported at Crested Butte 6.2 N. Wind gusts were in the 45 to 55 mph range at elevations above 11,900 feet with a peak wind gust of 57 mph a…

The Carbonate Hill mesonet station recorded a wind gust to 81 mph at 1100 AM MST on February 7th. This was the peak gust of the day, as wind began to diminish during the afternoon in this area. Other gusts around the zone ranged from 45 mph to 60 mph, with the peak gust being thi…

Between the Taylor Park RAWS and the CDOT Mesonet station in Crested Butte, a period of approximately 12 hours with temperatures below 25F and wind chill values below 15F was recorded. The majority of the period saw winds at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained. However, even we…

Between the Taylor Park RAWS and the CDOT Mesonet station in Crested Butte, an approximately 20 hour period of temperatures below 25F and wind chill values below 15F was recorded. Winds were, for the most part, at or above 10 mph, sustained or gusting. That said, even weak winds …

The Taylor Park RAWS recorded an approximately 2 hour period where temperatures were below 25F, winds were at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained, and wind chill values were below 15F. Temperatures ranged from -16F to -12F, and winds ranged from 10 mph to 11 mph. The coldest wi…

The Taylor Park RAWS recorded an one hour period where temperatures were below 25F, winds were at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained, and wind chill values were below 15F. Temperatures hovered around 25F, and winds hovered around 15 mph. The coldest wind chill recorded during …

Between the Taylor Park RAWS and the CDOT Mesonet station in Crested Butte, an approximately 7 hour period of temperatures below 25F and wind chill values less than 15F was recorded. Winds during this period were, for the most part, at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained. That …

Between the Taylor Park RAWS and the CDOT Mesonet Station in Crested Butte, a period of approximately 18 hours where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values were below 15F. Winds were, on the whole, at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained. That said, even weaker winds …