The north-facing couloir of Grizzly Peak, near Aspen off Independence Pass, is a genuine "classic."
It's high (13,988 feet at the summit), steep (42 or 43 degrees) and aesthetic (dropping about a thousand feet through rock walls to the apron of Grizzly Lake, at 12,540'). Grizzly has a storied history too, dating to the late 1960s/early 1970s, when the legendary likes of Bil Dunaway, Fritz Stammberger and Chris Landry made regular missions up and down the Grizzly Couloir.
It is also a classic avalanche path—even if it's not especially known for frequent slide activity. Because on Oct. 11, taking advantage of easy access from Lincoln Creek Rd. and early-season snow up high on Grizzly, a party of three skiers triggered an avalanche that ran the full track of Grizzly, from wall to wall, taking with it all the new snow save the summer's leftovers. All three skiers avoided being caught, fortunately.
Fritz Sperry was one of the skiers. He provided this image (above) of the start zone, and he wrote a detailed report on his blog, makingturns.com. There's also a discussion of the slide on the TGR forum. And all this before the Colorado Avalanche Information Center is up and running for the winter.
In an email today to ESPN Freeskiing, Sperry wrote, "This is just a little reminder to remember to factor avalanches into your route planning. ... Due to bonding issues, there seems to be some concerns over new snow that fell on old summer snow. But that may not be the only factor at play."
And so it is a good reminder at a time when returns of early-season turns up high in places like the Rockies, the Tetons and the Sierra are getting posted up on Internet ski forums under the typical umbrella of EARLY SEASON STOKE. Because this one didn't quite turn out that way.
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