DENVER – Christmas weekend brought the gift of fresh snowfall to Colorado’s high country but all that new snow means the risk of avalanches is now dangerously high.
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, the heavy snowfall over the weekend accumulated on top of an already weak base of snow. Combine that with high winds, and the snowpack in areas above the tree line is incredibly unstable along the Front Range.
CAIC reports 66 avalanches in the past five days in the region. Nobody has been caught in any of the slides thus far.
Officials say anyone traveling through the mountains should avoid steep slopes or areas below avalanche-prone terrain.
A portion of I-70 near the Eisenhower Tunnel was shut down briefly Tuesday morning for avalanche mitigation work.