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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
After Avalanche, Forecasters Urge Caution in Colorado Backcountry
Spring has arrived and the backcountry beckons, but the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), after an accident north of Ophir, still wants skiers to think about avalanche May 29, a skier was caught by an avalanche in Gold King Basin, Colorado, according to an accident report. They and their partner, a snowboarder, had begun descending an east-oriented face. First, the snowboarder rode downhill. Then, the skier followed, triggering a wet loose avalanche. Thankfully, the incident ended without injury. The skier quickly freed themself from the avalanche's path, avoiding being dragged through rocks. But the avalanche did carry a timely reminder.'Just because it's nearly June doesn't mean avalanche season is over,' the CAIC wrote in a recent social media update. 'We refer to avalanche years—not seasons—because avalanches can happen any time of year where there's snow on steep slopes.'Want to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates. The CAIC recommended that backcountry travelers begin and end their days early. As the sun melts the snow, the risk of wet loose avalanches can CAIC also wrote that skiers and snowboarders should move off steep slopes whenever there's a rain-on-snow event, track overnight temperatures, and favor areas with deeper across the CAIC's forecast regions throughout Colorado, the avalanche danger is to the CAIC's forecast discussion, a significant number of the recently reported avalanches across Colorado have been small, wet slides. The avalanches mostly haven't been large enough to bury a skier or snowboarder, but they could sweep someone off their feet, which could be a problem, depending on the terrain hazards. As the lift-accessed ski season winds down in Colorado and elsewhere, the backcountry is becoming the only place skiers and snowboarders can continue chasing those who'd prefer to ski while avoiding the risk of slides, though, a few options still remain. Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, plans to remain open until June 8, making it the state's latest open ski area. In California, Mammoth Mountain intends to spin the lifts through June 15. Timberline Lodge, Oregon, as is tradition, will stay open deep into the warmer months. And, in Wyoming, near the Montana border, North America's only ski area that exclusively operates in the summer, Beartooth Basin, is just starting its Avalanche, Forecasters Urge Caution in Colorado Backcountry first appeared on Powder on May 30, 2025
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
La Niña Odds Are Below 50% for Winter 25/26, NOAA Says
The North American ski season has, for most (but not all!) skiers, ended. The boots, the coats, and the skis have been carefully tucked away by many of their dutiful owners. Still, with every conclusion comes the promise of a new beginning, and we'd be lying if we said that we aren't already thinking about the next entails parsing the movements of every skier's favorite climatic phenomenon: the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, whose three varying phases can skew where the snow piles up the deepest. So, what does the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have to say about the ENSO's current status?Given the time of year, it's a bit uncertain. However, according to NOAA's latest ENSO diagnostic discussion, there is 'a 46% chance of ENSO-neutral and a 41% chance of La Niña during November 2025 - January 2026 (chances of El Niño are under 15%).'Want to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates. So, as it stands, an upcoming La Niña is kind of likely—the appearance of an El Niño much less summer, NOAA has a higher degree of confidence that ENSO-neutral will stick around, with the odds pinned at 74%. The release of NOAA's next ENSO discussion is scheduled for June 12. If all that was Greek to you, here's a quick ENSO's cool phase, La Niña, tends to, on average, produce cooler and wetter weather in the northwestern reaches of the U.S. (read: more pow). The warm phase, El Niño, does approximately the opposite, delivering wetter, more skier-friendly weather down south, on average. Finally, ENSO-neutral, which occurs when neither a La Niña or El Niño is in effect, doesn't tip the scales in either direction. This handy map from NOAA depicts snowfall distributions across every La Niña winter since 1959, up to and including 2024, compared to an average gathered between 1991 and 2020. There are a few caveats. The ENSO's signals, while helpful in guessing what a given winter may look like in advance, don't guarantee weather. Instead, you can think of them like loaded dice, tweaking the powder day odds. Also, it's May—if you wanted an exact look at when or where you could score fresh snow seven months from now, you'd need a time Niña Odds Are Below 50% for Winter 25/26, NOAA Says first appeared on Powder on May 29, 2025
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Striking Satellite Images Show Swiss Village Buried by Landslide
On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, a large portion of the Birch Glacier in Switzerland partially collapsed and released a chunk of ice that set off an enormous landslide, largely burying the village of Blatten where, before the slide, about 300 people lived. Images captured of the landslide's aftermath show widespread destruction. Ninety percent of Blatten was demolished, according to several news town's residents, including local livestock, had been evacuated by the time the Birch glacier fell. Yet, one person is reported missing, according to a press release shared by the Valais local government on temporarily called off the search for the missing person, a 64-year-old man, Thursday afternoon because of falling debris in the area, the Associated Press to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates. The initial landslide deposited a mass of ice and rock several meters thick and over a mile long, according to the press release from the local government. The debris is now obstructing the Lonza River, creating a lake that is flooding the buildings untouched by the initial landslide, the press release also response to the natural disaster, the local government has requested pumps and tools for debris removal. Recovering the village would take years, local officials said in a news conference on Wednesday, but mayor Matthias Bellwald was defiant."We lost our village but not our lives," he said, according to NPR. "The village is under the gravel, but we're going to get up. We are going to be in solidarity and rebuild. Everything is possible." In a post on X, Switzerland's president, Karin Keller-Sutter, offered her condolences. 'It's terrible to lose your home. In these difficult times, my thoughts are with the residents of Blatten,' she wrote. Switzerland's glaciers have faced a significant recession amidst warming global temperatures. Since 2000, the country's ice masses have lost nearly 40% of their volume, according to a fact sheet published by the Swiss Academy of Sciences. As these glaciers become less stable, the fact sheet noted, the risk of rockfalls and landslides can increase.'Global warming destabilizes rock faces and slopes which were previously supported by glaciers or a frozen ground,' the fact sheet Satellite Images Show Swiss Village Buried by Landslide first appeared on Powder on May 29, 2025
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Public Comment Window Opens for Vail's Proposed Lift Upgrades
The White River National Forest Service has opened a public comment period over a proposal for Vail Mountain to replace and upgrade several resort has proposed a replacement of the existing Chair 21 (Orient Express), which is a high-speed quad with a 2,400 person per hour capacity. The lift would be replaced by a 6-seater lift with a capacity of 3,600 people per hour in order to improve access to the Back Bowls, and decrease lift-line wait times. Additionally, Vail wants to replace Chair 15, which is currently a three-seater, with a quad chair to increase capacity from 1,400 to 2,400 people per hour. The replacement of Chair 15 would also allow for upgraded snowmaking infrastructure that would extend the chair's length. Vail's proposal also includes grading six acres of terrain along the Two Elk ridgeline between the top of the new Chair 21 and Two Elk Lodge to improve the flow of skier traffic in the area. This grading would eliminate several flat pitches of mountain and allow for Lift 24, which is currently a platter lift, to be removed. Want to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates. All pieces of the proposal are a part of Vail's 2023 Master Development Plan and will take place within the existing boundaries of Vail Mountain Resort. Vail is one of 11 ski areas within the White River National Forest. The Forest Service is seeking public comment on the proposal by June 6, 2025. A decision is predicted to be made by September of 2025 for an estimated project start in June of 2026. Vail Resorts made headlines earlier this week with the announcement that CEO Kristen Lynch would be replaced by former Vail CEO Rob Katz. The resort ownership conglomerate also recently added six new European ski areas to the Epic Pass for 2025/26 including Sölden, Silvretta Montafon, Mayrhofen, Hintertux, Saalbach, and Comment Window Opens for Vail's Proposed Lift Upgrades first appeared on Powder on May 28, 2025
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Swiss Village Buried by Massive Glacial Collapse
A chunk of the Birch glacier collapsed Wednesday, May 28, 2025, burying large portions of the small Swiss village, Blatten, under a mass of snow, ice, and debris, according to news May 19, residents of Blatten, which normally has a population of about 300, were evacuated after geologists determined that they were threatened by the risk of rock and ice fall. Still, Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities in the canton of Valais, said one person is missing, Reuters collapse destroyed several homes in the village and, according to generated an earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale. Footage shared of the avalanche shows a deluge of snow, ice, and rock roaring down a Swiss mountainside. Thick brown plumes of debris erupted around the slide. Tap or click the embedded video below to watch the collapse to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates. Karin Keller-Suter, the president of Switzerland, acknowledged the glacial collapse in a post on X.'It's terrible to lose your home,' she wrote. 'In these difficult times, my thoughts are with the residents of Blatten." The natural disaster at Blatten follows another incident when, in 2023, residents of the Swiss village of Brienz were forced to leave their homes as the mountains above them deteriorated, the BBC reported that, according to experts, the link between the collapse of the Birch glacier and climate isn't yet a changing climate has accelerated global glacial recession and, according to a fact sheet published by the Swiss Academy of Sciences, global warming can destabilize rock faces previously supported by glaciers or permafrost, heightening the risk of rockfalls and an interview, Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich, said a portion of Switzerland's glaciers could be preserved if 'we manage to cut global greenhouse gas emissions quickly.' However, Farinotti added that if greenhouse gas emissions aren't reduced, all of the Swiss glaciers could vanish by prospect doesn't just threaten an increased prevalence of natural hazards—it also puts Swiss summer skiing destinations at risk. Across the country, seven of the nine ski resorts that offered glacier skiing have ceased summer operations, according to a paper published in the Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights. Today, only Zermatt and Saas-Fee's summer glacier skiing offerings Village Buried by Massive Glacial Collapse first appeared on Powder on May 28, 2025
