Two men, on foot, triggered and were caught in a small avalanche. The avalanche was 2 to 3 feet deep, 65 feet wide, and ran 140 feet vertically.
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The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.
Two men, on foot, triggered and were caught in a small avalanche. The avalanche was 2 to 3 feet deep, 65 feet wide, and ran 140 feet vertically. One man was fully buried and the other partially buried. It took some time for the survivor to free himself, he then then had to dig through 5 feet of snow to reach his brother, who was unresponsive when found.
The accident, near Buffalo Pass, occurred on a north aspect below treeline as the two men, on foot, worked their way toward a lower elevation. The men had gotten stuck snowmobiling prior to the avalanche, and were trying to walk back to the Grizzly Creek campsite. The second survived two nights in the field and was recovered by friends, family, and rescue personnel on January 23rd. He was hospitalized and assessed for frostbite.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 20, 7:50 PM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 750 PM MST FRI JAN 20 2012 .UPDATE... && .SHORT TERM...NO MAJOR CHANGES NEEDED. WINDS WILL PROBABLY NOT INCREASE IN THE FOOTHILLS UNTIL AROUND 12Z. .AVIATION...WEAK BNDRY MOVED INTO THE AIRPORT AS WINDS BECAME MORE ELY. APPEARS THIS BNDRY WILL GRADUALLY WASHOUT WITH WINDS GRADUALLY BECOMING MORE SLY BY 06Z OR SO WHICH WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. SOME STRATUS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE NERN PLAINS LATE TONIGHT BUT THESE CLOUDS SHOULD NOT AFFECT THE AIRPORT. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 308 PM MST FRI JAN 20 2012/ SHORT TERM...THE ATMOSPHERE WAS A BIT MORE UNSTABLE TODAY ALLOWING FOR THE STRONGER WINDS ALOFT TO MIX DOWN KEEPING WIND SPEEDS STRONGER AND TEMPERATURES COOLER THAN FORECAST. A FEW SHOWERS WERE EVEN ABLE TO FORM OVER THE PLAINS AS A NEARLY STATIONARY COLD FRONT MOVED INTO THE NORTHEAST PLAINS. A FEW RAINDROPS LIKELY FELL OVER EASTERN WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN COUNTIES...BUT MOST PRODUCED ONLY VIRGA. THE NEXT SYSTEM THAT WILL BRING MORE WIND AND SNOW TO OUR AREA IS NEARING THE WESTERN US COAST. THAT WILL GIVE US A BREAK THIS EVENING AND EARLY TONIGHT FROM SNOW OR WIND. HOWEVER FLOW ALOFT WILL BE TURNING SOUTHWEST TO BRING WARM AND MOIST AIR FROM THE PACIFIC AS WELL AS INCREASING WINDS ALOFT AS A JET ROUNDS THE TROUGH. A DEEPENING SURFACE TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS WILL HELP SET UP YET ANOTHER DOWNSLOPE WIND EVENT FOR THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS BEGINNING EARLY TOMORROW MORNING AND LAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON WITH GUSTS TO 80 MPH EXPECTED. THESE WINDS WILL HELP KEEP TEMPERATURES ABOVE NORMAL AGAIN FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND PLAINS. SNOW WILL LIKELY BEGIN OVER THE PARK AND GORE MOUNTAIN RANGES AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. SINCE TEMPERATURES WILL START OUT FAIRLY WARM...WILL LIKELY SEE PRECIP START AS RAIN IN THE HIGH MOUNTAIN VALLEYS THEN CHANGE OVER TO SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON AS THE COLD ADVECTION BEGINS TO MOVE IN. THE SYSTEM DYNAMICS AND OROGRAPHICS WILL BECOME FAVORABLE FOR MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL OVER THE MOUNTAINS BEGINNING LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON. LONG TERM...STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS COLORADO TOMORROW NIGHT. THE DEEP PACIFIC MOISTURE COMBINED WITH MODERATE TO STRONG SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT AS SEEN IN THE Q-G FIELDS WILL RESULT IN A FAVORABLE SETUP FOR HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL. LAPSE RATES WILL BE MOIST ADIABATIC AND AT THE SAME TIME...CROSS SECTIONS SHOW STRONG VERTICAL MOTION THROUGH THE -12C TO -16C LAYER...RESULTING IN FAVORABLE DENDRITIC GROWTH REGIME AND HIGH POTENTIAL OF HEAVY SNOWFALL. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL SHOULD OCCUR WITH AND SHORTLY AFTER TROUGH PASSAGE WHEN THESE PARAMETERS ARE MAXIMIZED. THEN SNOW SHOULD SLOWLY DECREASE LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. HOWEVER...STRONG WINDS WILL KEEP SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW AND HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS AND POOR VISIBILITIES IN PLACE SO WINTER STORM WARNING WILL GO TIL NOON SUNDAY WHEN CONDITIONS SHOULD GRADUALLY IMPROVE. FOR THE HIGH VALLEYS... ADVISORIES ARE WARRANTED GIVEN THE SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT. ON THE PLAINS...THERE IS A SMALL WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR A FEW SNOW SHOWERS TO DRIFT OFF THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS DUE TO THE STRONG FLOW ALOFT...SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT...AND MODEST INSTABILITY. AT FIRST...TEMPERATURES ARE WARM ENOUGH THAT ANY PRECIPITATION WOULD BE IN THE FORM OF RAIN TOMORROW EVENING...AND THEN TURNING TO SNOW SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE BEST OPPORTUNITY OF SHOWERS WOULD COME FROM THE ECMWF SOLUTION WHICH IS DEEPER AND THUS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHALLOW UPSLOPE ON THIS SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS BEFORE STRONGER DOWNSLOPE FLOW KICKS IN. WILL KEEP THE SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST FOR NOW. THE DOWNSLOPE WILL KICK IN FULL FORCE BY SATURDAY MORNING WITH WINDS INCREASING AND BECOMING STRONG. AT THIS TIME...THE MEAN FLOW IS MARGINAL FOR A HIGH WIND EVENT SO WE WONT BE ISSUING A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE PLAINS AT THIS TIME. FIRE DANGER WILL INCREASE WITH STRONG WINDS AND LOWER HUMIDITIES. THE WEATHER SETTLES DOWN AND WARMS UP AGAIN ON MONDAY. THEN THE NEXT TROUGH WILL APPROACH THE STATE MONDAY NIGHT AND MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TUESDAY. THIS WILL BRING ANOTHER CHANCE OF SNOW TO THE FORECAST AREA. SOME OF THE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ARE DEEPER WITH THIS TROUGH...ALLOWING A BETTER CHANCE OF UPSLOPE AND SNOW ON THE PLAINS. HOWEVER...THE LATEST MODEL TRENDS SHOW THIS TROUGH ALMOST DIGGING TOO MUCH FOR SNOW IN OUR FORECAST AREA SO WILL TAKE A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH FOR NOW WITH THE BEST CHANCE IN THE MOUNTAINS. FOR WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...WE APPEAR TO GET CAUGHT IN BETWEEN THE TROUGH DIGGING TO OUR SOUTH AND THE FASTER NORTHERN BRANCH. EVENTUALLY...THE NORTHERN BRANCH WILL WIN OUT BY LATE NEXT WEEK RESULTING IN A LITTLE BETTER CHANCE OF SNOW BY FRIDAY OR NEXT WEEKEND. AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT 36 HOURS. W/NWLY WINDS SHOULD CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING THEN TURN TO DRAINAGE AS THE ATMOSPHERE DECOUPLES AND GRADIENTS RELAX. THE DRAINAGE WINDS WILL BE SLIGHTLY ENHANCED DUE TO A DEEPENING SURFACE TROUGH LATER TONIGHT. WEST WINDS WILL BE INCREASING TO HIGH WIND CRITERIA AFTER 10Z IN THE FOOTHILLS AND WILL LIKELY START AFFECTING THE AREA AIRPORTS BY 15Z IF NOT BEFORE. GUSTS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER WINDS FOUND AT KBJC. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS 3 AM MST TONIGHT UNTIL 5 PM MST SATURDAY...COZ033>036. ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS INCLUDING SUMMIT COUNTY FROM NOON MST SATURDAY UNTIL NOON MST SUNDAY...COZ031..COZ033>COZ034. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE HIGH MOUNTAIN VALLEYS FROM 2 PM MST SATURDAY AFTERNOON UNTIL 6 AM MST SUNDAY...COZ030..COZ032. && SHORT TERM...RPK LONG TERM....BARJENBRUCH AVIATION...RPK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO 1107 AM MST FRI JAN 20 2012 COZ030>051-211815- JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET- WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET- GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET- SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET- SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/ GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET- JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY- LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY- BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY- NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY- ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET- NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY- CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY- SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY- LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 1107 AM MST FRI JAN 20 2012 ...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS INCLUDING SUMMIT COUNTY NOON SATURDAY UNTIL NOON SUNDAY... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE HIGH MOUNTAIN VALLEYS FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON UNTIL 6 AM MST SUNDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW IN THE HIGH COUNTRY WILL BE DIMINISHING DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH IT REMAINING THE LONGEST OVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL CONTINUE OVER AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS AS WELL AS IN WELD COUNTY NEAR THE WYOMING BORDER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL HIT THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY. IN ADVANCE OF THIS SYSTEM...ANOTHER ROUND OF HIGH WINDS IS EXPECTED OVER THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS WITH PEAK WIND GUSTS AROUND 80 MPH. AS THE STORM MOVES IN...SNOW WILL INCREASE IN INTENSITY ACROSS THE HIGH COUNTRY SATURDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL EXPECTED LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING. TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 16 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED IN ELEVATIONS ABOVE 9000 FEET...WITH UP TO 2 FEET ALONG HIGHER WEST FACING SLOPES DURING THIS PERIOD. MOUNTAIN VALLEYS MAY SEE 4 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW. SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL OCCUR WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS ESPECIALLY OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN PASSES. TRAVEL INTO THE MOUNTAINS WILL BE SLOW AND HAZARDOUS WITH SNOWPACKED AND ICY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES DUE TO FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW. THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER THE PLAINS WITH THIS SYSTEM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT...WITH LITTLE OR NO SNOW ACCUMULATION. THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL SETTLE DOWN A BIT NEXT WEEK...BUT ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL LIKELY BRING MORE SNOW TO THE HIGH COUNTRY BY LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED...BUT ANY REPORTS OF HIGH WINDS GREATER THAN 60 MPH OR ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL WILL BE APPRECIATED. KRIEDERMAN/BARJENBRUCH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2012
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 358645.