Folks roaming the streets of Telluride, Colorado recently got to see something terrifyingly beautiful: an avalanche on Ajax Peak.
Shown in the footage, above, the avalanche was intentionally triggered by Telluride Helitrax, a local heli-skiing company, during mitigation work. Following nearly 95 inches of snowfall in the month of January, this avalanche-triggering was executed to keep backcountry skiers safe, as well as those who live in the area.
Let this video serve as a reminder that avalanches are incredibly powerful. And also take some time to appreciate what people do in the mountains to keep us safe every winter. Sometimes, things don’t go as planned, as we sadly saw last week with a fallen ski patroller from Squaw Valley.
Know before you go, and don’t go at all if you’re untrained.
