Maroon Creek Road (CR 13)

Avalanches present serious winter mountain hazards, and Colorado’s mountains produce some of the worst avalanche conditions on the continent. In a typical Colorado winter, at least 20,000 avalanches occur in places where heavy snow accumulations combine with unstable snowpack. The Maroon Valley experiences many avalanches over the course of the winter.

The start of an avalanche can become apparent in many ways: with a quiet whump, with drum-like sounds, or with a sudden appearance of shooting cracks in the snow’s surface. An avalanche can be triggered by the snap of a twig, by normal conversation, or by a light footstep on a weak patch of snow. Although avalanche paths can often be seen on open slopes, slides also occur on hillsides covered with trees and other vegetation.

From the moment it starts, an avalanche moves hard and fast, with the roar and power of a locomotive. It can travel faster than 100 m.p.h. It tumbles boulders like toys and topples large trees, pulling them downhill. No one can predict when or where an avalanche will happen, but training in avalanche awareness allows humans to minimize the risk of hiking, skiing, and climbing in the backcountry.

In a forest environment, avalanches clear the landscape, create open spaces, and allow new trees to establish. As in burned-over areas, aspens often fill in along an avalanche path. Aspens, with their flexibility and small diameter trunks, often survive avalanches better than most conifers.”