Historic Avalanches in the Northern Front Range and the Central and Northern Mountains of Colorado
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United States Department of Agriculture Historic Avalanches in the Forest Service Northern Front Range and Rocky Mountain the Central and Northern Research Station Mountains of Colorado General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-38 M. Martinelli, Jr. and Charles F. Leaf September 1999 Martinelli, M., Jr.; Leaf, Charles F., compilers. 1999. Historic avalanches in the northern front range and the central and northern mountains of Colorado. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-38. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 270 p. Abstract Newspaper accounts of avalanche accidents from the 1860s through 1950 have been compiled, summarized, and discussed. Many of the avalanches that caused fatalities came down rather small, innocuous-looking paths. Land use planners can use historical avalanche information as a reminder of the power of snow avalanches and to assure rational development in the future. Keywords: avalanches, avalanche accidents, avalanche damage, avalanche fatalities, snowslides Authors M. Martinelli, Jr. is a retired principal meteorologist. He led the Mountain Snow and Avalanche Research Work Unit at the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station until 1985. Charles F. Leaf is a consulting hydrologist and water resource engineer with the Platte River Hydrologic Research Center in Merino, Colorado. Publisher Rocky Mountain Research Station Fort Collins, Colorado You may order additional copies of this publication by sending August 1999 your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please send the publication title and number. Telephone (970) 498-1719 E-mail rschneider/[email protected] FAX (970) 498-1660 Mailing Address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 3825 E. Mulberry Street Fort Collins, CO 80524-8597 Cover Photo: An avalanche cascading over a cliff in its track. The debris from this wet slab avalanche in May 1973 set up very hard soon after it ran. (Stacy Standley photo.) Historic Avalanches in the Northern Front Range and the Central and Northern Mountains of Colorado M. Martinelli, Jr. and Charles F. Leaf Contents Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. ii Figures iii Introduction ............................................................................................................1 Data Sources .........................................................................................................4 Avalanche Knowledge and Awareness .......................................................................4 Severe Winter Storms ............................................................................................. 9 Early Avalanche Control .........................................................................................10 Case Study Possibilities ......................................................................................... 13 Avalanche Chronology ...........................................................................................14 Some Human Interest Highlights ............................................................................. 15 Discussion and Conclusions ...................................................................................17 Newspaper Accounts Concerning Avalanches in the Northern Front Range of Colorado 1861-1950 ...............................................19 Newspaper Accounts Concerning Avalanches in the Central and Northern Colorado Mountains 1862-1945 .................................. 87 References ......................................................................................................... 209 Appendix A ........................................................................................................ 215 Appendix B ......................................................................................................... 217 Table 1 — Fatalities, Northern Front Range 1861-1951 ..............................................218 Table 2 — Fatalities, Central and Northern Mountains 1962-1945 ............................ 219 Table 3 — Chronological Summary of Avalanches in the Northern Front Range ........ 220 Table 4 — Chronological Summary of Avalanches in the Central and Northern Colorado Mountains ...................................................................................... 231 Table 5 — Alphabetical Listing of Place Names Mentioned in the Avalanche Accident Accounts of the Northern Front Range ...............................................245 Table 6 — Alphabetical Listing of Place Names Mentioned in the Avalanche Accident Accounts of the Central and Northern Colorado Mountains .................255 i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the work of Mr. Dan Abbott, author and railroad buff, in searching the Georgetown Courier, and of Miss Jo D. Nimie, a YACC enrollee, in searching the Summit County Journal. We also thank John Hahn of Crested Butte, Pauline Marshall of Silver Plume, Max Dercum of Montezuma Road, John Ophus of Salida, and R.H. Kindig of Denver for their help in identifying and locating features and/or the loan of photographs. A special thanks to Carol LoSapio, whose computer skills, unlimited patience, and strong positive attitude made it possible to bring a long dormant effort to final fruition. The financial and moral support of Chuck Troendle and R.A. Schmidt of the Rocky Mountain Station is also deeply appreciated. ii Figures page Figure 1. — Map of western Colorado showing the primary mountain areas mentioned in this report. ................ 2 Figure 2. — Aerial view of upper Hall Valley, A, and upper Deer Creek, B. The approximate location of the Whale Mine is indicated by C. ...................................................................................................23 Figure 3. — Monument, in the Silver Plume Cemetery, to the 10 people killed by an avalanche on Republican Mountain on February 12, 1899. ...........................................................................................37 Figure 4. — Rescue workers searching for victims of the February 12, 1899, avalanche at Silver Plume (Silver Plume Historic Society). ......................................................................................................... 43 Figure 5. — Sherman (16) and Brown Mountains (15) from Cemetery Hill at Silver Plume. Other features men- tioned in the accounts are Pelican Tunnel (2), Maine Mine shaft (3), Illinois Tunnel on ridge between Cherokee and Willihan Gulches (6), upper tunnel Wisconsin Mine in Cherokee Gulch (7), and Montreal Mine (11) (USGS Professional Paper 63, p1. XXIII). ............................................................45 Figure 6. — Seven-Thirty Mine, in Brown Gulch, looking north-northwest from Griffin Monument (USGS Professional Paper 63, p1. XXX). ............................................................................................. 47 Figure 7. — Railroad to Camp Francis and the Big Five Mine from Boulder (modified from Ormes 1975, by permission). .................................................................................................................................. 51 Figure 8. — Locomotives number 30 and 31 and a snowplow lie on Big Five Siding — near the mouth of Adit-Dew Drop tunnel. Compare with figure 9 (R. H. Kindig Collection, Denver). ..............................52 Figure 9. — The two locomotives and the snowplow on the Big Five Siding after most of the snow had melted. Compare with figure 8 (A. A. Paddock Collection, Boulder Historic Society). ..........................................52 Figure 10. — Aerial view of upper Leavenworth Creek showing location of Santiago Mine, Waldorf Mine [tunnel], Argentine Pass, McClellan Mountain, and Stevens Gulch (Lovering 1935, p1. I). ......................................55 Figure 12. — Close-up view of the avalanche debris from the April 23, 1921, avalanche at Silver Plume. The Town Hall is to the left, a private home to the right (Silver Plume Historic Society). ........................ 70 Figure 11. — Avalanche debris piled against the corner of the Town Hall at Silver Plume. This avalanche, which ran on April 23, 1921, flowed around the back of the Town Hall (Silver Plume Historic Society). ....... 70 Figure 13. — The site of the April 23, 1921, avalanche as seen in August 1981. The debris of the Sebelia and Benso homes shown in the previous two figures was piled against the corner of the Town Hall between the building and the butane tank. ............................................................................................ 72 Figure 14. — This August 1981 picture shows the avalanche path above the eastern end of Silver Plume, where Mr. Charles Sebelia was killed on April 23, 1921. The white-fronted building is the Town Hall men- tioned in account 78. ......................................................................................................................... 72 Figure 15. — An avalanche splitter wedge up hill from a high voltage transmission tower in Peru Creek. Photo taken June 25, 1964. .................................................................................................................. 77 Figure 16. — Part of the Greys Peak 7-1/2 minute quadrangle (USGS). Places mentioned in the newspaper accounts are circled. ........................................................................................................ 83 Figure 17. — Part of the Montezuma 7-1/2