The CAIC published a comparison of avalanche incidents and deaths this season versus last season on their blog. Their conclusion is that fatalities are about the same but human-triggered avalanches are up significantly. The 32 people caught in avalanches in January 2019 is the worst month since Feb 2013.
https://avalanche.state.co.us/there...anuary-how-does-that-compare-to-other-months/
https://avalanche.state.co.us/accidents/us/
Fatalities:
Incidents:
Comparing involvements paints a different picture. There were 32 people caught in avalanches in January 2019. That is nearly three times more people than in previous Januaries. Of the past 40 months with avalanche incidents, we only recorded more involvements in February 2013. The 56 cumulative involvements this year are far more than we recorded for all of 2017-18, 2015-16, and 2014-15. If we project similar rates to the end of the season, 2018-19 will be by far the most people involved in avalanche that we have recorded.
...
It is not simply a function of more avalanches. The type of avalanche may contribute. This winter, many of the avalanches ran on persistent weak layers while many in January 2017 ran on storm instabilities. More people are recreating in the backcountry, which could increase the number of interactions with avalanches. ... The line between avalanche tragedies and close calls may only be a matter of luck. A few events go slightly different–someone misses a tree, someone is caught further out on the slab–and our season could look very different.
https://avalanche.state.co.us/there...anuary-how-does-that-compare-to-other-months/
https://avalanche.state.co.us/accidents/us/
Fatalities:
Comparing fatalities, 2018-19 looks similar to recent years. In four of the previous six winters, there were two or three fatalities by the end of January. The differences in total seasonal fatalities over recent winters tend to appear in February or April. Over the last few decades, most fatal avalanches occur in January, February, or March. Accidents in the spring separate typically tragic from exceptionally tragic seasons.
Incidents:
Comparing involvements paints a different picture. There were 32 people caught in avalanches in January 2019. That is nearly three times more people than in previous Januaries. Of the past 40 months with avalanche incidents, we only recorded more involvements in February 2013. The 56 cumulative involvements this year are far more than we recorded for all of 2017-18, 2015-16, and 2014-15. If we project similar rates to the end of the season, 2018-19 will be by far the most people involved in avalanche that we have recorded.
...
It is not simply a function of more avalanches. The type of avalanche may contribute. This winter, many of the avalanches ran on persistent weak layers while many in January 2017 ran on storm instabilities. More people are recreating in the backcountry, which could increase the number of interactions with avalanches. ... The line between avalanche tragedies and close calls may only be a matter of luck. A few events go slightly different–someone misses a tree, someone is caught further out on the slab–and our season could look very different.
