Wet snow avalanche near Willow Lake below Kit Carson Peak, Colorado

Dry snow and wet snow avalanches are very different from one and other and are caused by different processes. They fail and fracture differently, they are triggered differently, and they move differently down the slope. Experts on the matter divide the different types of avalanches even further between dry ,damp, moist, and wet to describe the variations.


Wet avalanches, like the one I recorded here, are really dangerous but not nearly as deadly as the "dry" type most of us are familiar with. Nevertheless, stay clear of any avalanche as dozens of people die in them each year, in my state of Colorado alone!

Wet snow avalanches are usually caused by decreasing the strength of the snow pack and are a little harder for people to trigger. Wet snow avalanches are usually caused by rain, prolonged melting by the sun, or very warm temperatures. They're also a bit slower (between 10 and 40 mph/16 and 64 kmph) and don't create a dust cloud.

I recorded this video from our camp that was located just a hundred metres downstream from Willow Lake which lies beneath Kit Carson Peak. Willow Lake sits at about 11,564 feet ( 3,525 metres) Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area. This avalanche took place the last day of May.


Here's my personal web page about 14ers:
http://www.rogerwendell.com/14ers.html

Here's my personal web page about mountaineering in general:
http://www.rogerwendell.com/climbing.html

05-31-2009

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• wet
• snow
• avalanche
• willow
• lake
• kit
• carson
• peak
• colorado
• sangre
• de
• cristo
• wilderness
• area

[Vimtox]

more like a waterfall than an avalanche lol

[zeekzilch]

@Vimtox

True. But, by definition they still consider it an avalanche of sorts...

[reeceybaber]

Always someone with a packet of crisps

[zeekzilch]

@reeceybaber

Not many people on this side of the Atlantic know what "crisps" are!

[JD03ish]

@zeekzilch

What are they, Zeek?

[zeekzilch]

@JD03ish

Wet snow avalanches are usually caused by rain, prolonged melting by the sun, or very warm temperatures. They're also a bit slower (between 10 and 40 mph/16 and 64 kmph) and don't create a dust cloud. Does that help?

[LAURAbrap]

coool, makes me wanna go skiing xD