This avalanche from November 27th in the backcountry near Marble caught and partially buried 3 skiers

Welcome to "The Monthly Dump", the source for avalanche education content and updates from the Friends of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (Friends of CAIC) and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).

People are triggering avalanches remotely from very far away and from below. Avoid traveling on and under slopes highlighted in the forecast that are steeper than about 30 degrees. Give steep slopes above you a wide berth.

Check out a CAIC animation about remote triggered avalanches

Read the forecast at Colorado.gov/avalanche.

The video production on CAIC's YouTube channel is on the rise, featuring updates from forecasters in the field across the state! Ensure you catch all these updates by visiting the YouTube channel and clicking the "Subscribe" button today.

For every one of these award-winning goggles sold, Glade will donate 25% of proceeds to FoCAIC to further their mission of backcountry awareness and education.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us at the CAIC Benefit Bash on December 2nd and/or contributed on Colorado Gives Day the following Tuesday!

The 16th Annual Benefit Bash maintained the tradition of filling the Breckenridge Riverwalk Center with backcountry enthusiasts, all rallying for avalanche forecasting and education. Through giveaways, auctions, and ticket sales, Friends of CAIC raised over $80,000 on that memorable night. We take pride in presenting a check for $100,000 to the CAIC, directly funding forecasting operations this season. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the volunteers, partners, and attendees for ensuring the success of this event.

On Colorado Gives Day, our goal was to raise $50,000, marking 50 years of forecasting in Colorado. Thanks to your generous donations, we surpassed the target, reaching over $52,000 on the day! Special thanks to all who donated and helped spread the word about this significant day of giving. A heartfelt congratulations to Will F. from Crested Butte, the fortunate winner of the Mammut safety package!

Snow Pool

Want to share feedback on CAIC avalanche safety communications? We're all ears.

Your feedback matters to us here at the CAIC —which is why we're inviting you to participate in the Snow Pool. As part of the Snow Pool, you'll have the opportunity to share feedback and ultimately shape the future of the CAIC's forecasts, website, and safety messaging.

You do not have to live in Colorado or have any avalanche knowledge to participate. We are interested in the perspectives of all types of users with all levels of experience. It will take approximately 10 minutes to sign up, and is best done on a computer instead of a mobile device.
 
The Snow Pool is a collaborative research project on avalanche safety by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center and Simon Fraser University with additional support from the Friends of CAIC.

Provide Feedback

 

Local Grants

Across Colorado, many of our mountain towns, counties, and community foundations are providing critical funding to support local avalanche forecasting and education by providing grant funding to Friends of CAIC. If you live in, or travel to these locations, join us in thanking them for their support for avalanche safety! 

2023/2024 Grant Funding
American Avalanche Association
Chaffee County Community Foundation
City of Aspen
Community Foundation of Northern Colorado - Estes Valley Community Fund
Copper Mountain - Play Forever Fund
First Ascent Charitable Foundation
National Forest Foundation Ski Conservation Fund - Dillon Ranger District
Ouray Community Fund & Citizens State Bank
Pitkin County
San Miguel County

The Summit Foundation
Town of Breckenridge
Vail Resorts - Epic Promise Fund
Yampa Valley Community Foundation

Based in Vermont and independently owned, Gordini has focused on the same mission since its founding in 1956: to keep you outside longer. Gloves, goggles and socks are not merely accessories, they are purpose-built equipment, made to endure the most demanding conditions, season after season. We take our commitment to people and the planet seriously and build that into everything we do. The future is in all our hands and now, our feet!

"While skinning up to moonlight bowl/basin my partner and I remote triggered a large avalanche. It propagated a significant distance and upslope to the top of the ridge. My partner was struck by debris and thrown 10’ while attempting to seek cover behind a terrain feature. I was already behind cover but also taken off my feet. Neither of us were buried or injured but my partner lost a ski and a pole. Grand County Sheriff’s Department was immediately notified of the incident."

Thank you to those willing to share their story so that we can all learn from close calls.

We've set the goal of 5,000 public observations, and we'll be pulling random submissions to win prizes from our partners throughout the year, and a end of season prize package from Weston Backcountry. Stay tuned for more details but you can start submitting now for a chance to win great prizes!

 

We believe in coffee. Good coffee. Like really good coffee. And we believe the best places to share a good cup of coffee are far outside the walls of a coffee shop. We started First Ascent to bring good coffee to great places. To give you time to share silence, or a moment of anticipation over a perfectly made cup of coffee - wherever you may be. No equipment necessary.

 Avalanche control systems installed on US 550 Red Mountain Pass