Five Feet of Snow at Wolf Creek Triggers High Avalanche Advisories

Wolf Creek Ski Area recorded 59 inches of new snow over a seven-day storm cycle, pushing the resort’s seasonal total above 150 inches and producing a measured snow depth of 102 inches, officials reported. The heavy seven-day accumulation came across the Wolf Creek Pass corridor in the San Juan Mountains and coincided with a Colorado Avalanche Information Center Special Avalanche Advisory that remains in effect across the state.

Forecasters and local dispatches described the snowpack change as abrupt: new snow dumped onto a hard-packed base across the San Juan Basin, a layering that the Alamosa-area advisories say makes slopes more prone to easy triggers. The advisory language preserved the scene of the weekend at Wolf Creek: “Picture it: untracked snow, the sun catching the crystals in the fresh snow, winds finally calming, and stoke running high after too many weekends off the snow,” the advisory excerpt reads, while warning of the danger beneath the surface.

The CAIC-related guidance spelled out specific terrain thresholds for concern, noting that slopes steeper than about 30 degrees are of particular risk. “If that tempting slope of fresh snow is steeper than about 30 degrees, you need to pause and think hard. And the safest answer will most likely be no. A Special Avalanche Advisory remains in effect across the state for a reason,” the advisory excerpt cautioned, underlining why the advisory has been characterized as high-danger for parts of the San Juan Basin.

Transportation and recreation were immediately affected. Wolf Creek Pass was closed on two separate occasions during the storm period, yet travelers still flocked to the resort over the weekend; the resort “welcomed the late season crowd with open arms” and, after the storms, “After nearly five feet of snow, 59 inches to be exact, Wolf Creek Ski Area saw sunshine, making for the perfect bluebird day!” on Saturday, Feb. 21. That influx occurred along US-160, the key corridor through Wolf Creek Pass that emergency planners monitor during major winter events.

With a 102-inch snow depth reported at the resort and the seven-day 59-inch accumulation settled on top of hard-packed layers, county and state avalanche forecasters maintained the statewide Special Avalanche Advisory. Given the two pass closures and heavy weekend traffic into Wolf Creek, the advisory places particular emphasis on backcountry users and those traveling US-160 to exercise extreme caution until avalanche danger diminishes and the advisory is lifted.