January 2020 E Newsletter
the power of PLACE
Magic of Winter
A Gothic winter is magical and RMBL is expanding opportunities for students of all ages to experience it.
When the snow starts to fall, the larger world fades away. A typical year brings 40 feet of snow, covering one-story buildings with a white, smooth blanket of snow. The snow came so fast in one storm that a snowplow drove over a truck parked at the trailhead without noticing, leaving only a broken antenna behind.
Ian Billick | PhD
Executive Director, RMBL
sciencestories
Irwin Guides
Snowed Under
When’s the last time you dug someone out of the snow? We hope you never need to rescue a companion from an avalanche. The thing is, in Colorado your odds of encountering an avalanche are higher than elsewhere.
In a December 2019 article in The Salt Lake Tribune, the headline blared: “Colorado is the most dangerous state for avalanches, more than doubling Utah’s total fatalities over 70 years.” Holding the top spot in this category is not something to brag about. The unfortunate truth is that since 1950, the number of avalanche deaths in Colorado far surpassed that of any other state. During last year’s exceptionally snowy season, 135 people statewide were caught in avalanches, and eight died.
