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After Avalanche, Forecasters Urge Caution in Colorado Backcountry

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated May 30, 2025 4:08 PM ET

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 danger.

On 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.”

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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 increase.

The 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 snowpacks.

Today, across the CAIC’s forecast regions throughout Colorado, the avalanche danger is low.

According 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 winter.

For 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 season.