The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) is a program of the Colorado Geological Survey (CGS), a division of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Its purpose is to minimize the impact of avalanches on the people and property of Colorado through a dual mission of forecasting and education.

The CAIC is staffed by 16 avalanche forecasters and educators who monitor snowpack, weather, and avalanche conditions in the Colorado mountains. The Center also uses information from other avalanche operations (ski areas, mechanized guiding, backcountry guiding, backcountry observers, search and rescue, etc…) and the public to track avalanche conditions.

The CAIC’s main office and weather forecast operations are housed in the National Weather Service office at the David Skaggs Research Center in Boulder. Four satellite offices in Marble, Pagosa Springs, Silverton, and at the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnel support a forecasting program for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). In addition, three backcountry forecast field offices are located in

The CAIC engages in the following activities in order to minimize the physical impacts of snow avalanches on Colorado citizens and visitors and reduce the economic impacts of avalanches on recreation, tourism, commerce, and industry:

• Provides the public with daily information about changing snow cover, weather, and avalanche conditions in the Colorado mountains via recorded telephone messages, radio stations, email, social media, and the CAIC web site.

 

• Provides the public with education and training on how to use current snow, weather, and avalanche information for safe backcountry travel.

 

• Issues avalanche watches and warnings through the National Weather Service and the news media to keep the public informed about dangerous avalanche conditions.

 

• Conducts an avalanche forecasting program for the CDOT’s highway maintenance operations.

 

• Provides technical consulting services and avalanche training to the CDOT.
• Investigates all significant avalanche accidents.

 

• Helps Colorado businesses by providing accurate mountain weather forecasts and communicating snow and avalanche information between snow safety groups.

 

• Provides workplace safety training for avalanche professionals and professions that operate in avalanche terrain.

 

The CAIC first began operations in 1973 as the Forest Service Colorado Avalanche Warning Center; an outgrowth of its avalanche research program. Budget cuts forced the USFS to give up the program in 1983, and the program subsequently found a home within the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and became the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

In 1987 the Colorado Geological Survey (CGS) assumed administration of the CAIC, and in April 1995 Governor Roy Romer signed HB 1314, which gave the CAIC statutory authority and official designation as an agency within the CGS.

The CAIC’s backcountry program is funded by Severance Tax Fund (taxes on energy and mineral production), private contributions, grants from city and county governments, and private foundations. It receives no general funds from the state. The CAIC’s transportation program is funded by an intergovernmental agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Colorado accounts for one-third of all avalanche deaths in the United States, and avalanches kill more people annually in Colorado than any other natural hazard. Each season an average of 2,452 avalanches are reported to the CAIC.  The CAIC issues up-to-date forecasts about snowpack and avalanche conditions providing valuable information to assist backcountry users in decision making. In addition, educational information distributed via the CAIC web site and by CAIC staff helps ensure that Colorado residents and visitors understand the risks associated with recreational activities in avalanche-prone areas.

You can check out the Colorado Avalanche Information Center's website here: http://avalanche.state.co.us/index.php

On the CAIC website you can look at the avalanche forecasts by zone, see upcoming events, find education opportunities, read accident reports, submit observations, and be linked to other important weather and avalanche sites.