Avalanche — Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Ft, Colorado

2010-11-22 · Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Ft, Colorado

Event narrative

An avalanche at Wolf Creek Ski Area killed the Wolf Creek Ski Area Director.

Wider weather episode

Blizzard, avalanche and winter storm conditions impacted the eastern San Juan Mountains, La Garita Mountains, and eastern Sawatch Range. Winds gusted to around 70 mph at times in the eastern San Juan Mountains. In addition to the snow and the wind...an avalanche killed the Wolf Creek Ski Area Director. Snow totals were in excess of 8 inches across the eastern Sawatch Range and La Garita Mountains and Upper Rio Grande Valley. Up to 18 inches of snow fell across the eastern half of Wolf Creek Pass in Mineral County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 268929. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.