Commissioners schedule work session on avalanche forecasting and winter maintenance after plowing decisions at Senator Gulch

Commissioners directed staff to schedule a focused work session with the Center for Avalanche Information (CAIC), local mine operators, the sheriff's office, Mountain Rescue and recreation stakeholder groups to align forecasting language, clarify who produces "go/no-go" spot forecasts and standardize public messaging for avalanche risk and winter maintenance decisions.

The issue surfaced after Road & Bridge personnel limited winter maintenance this season at Senator Gulch. Road & Bridge staff reported that crews stopped plowing beyond safety turning points because mine operators had received forecasts advising them not to use the road. That led to confusion about public messaging when county alert language used terms that differ from CAIC terminology.

"If the mine is no longer using the road because they're concerned about the safety of their employees, I'm not gonna send my crew through the gate at Senator Gulch so they can turn around inside of a slide path," Road & Bridge staff said. County commissioners and staff discussed whether the county should simply broadcast situational messages such as "no-go day for the mine" and whether that could create message fatigue.

Commissioner Lynn proposed inviting Dr. Nathan Green from CAIC for a joint work session so the county, mines, search-and-rescue, the sheriff and local recreation groups could coordinate vocabulary and decide how to present public information. "I think it would be really, really helpful and proactive for this board to invite Doctor Green to have a joint work session with us so that we can figure out where those balance points are," Lynn said.

Participants said there are three different "buckets" of forecasting products in play: (1) CAIC products used by recreational backcountry users; (2) more specific spot forecasts used by mines and Road & Bridge to make operational "go/no-go" decisions; and (3) incident-response forecasting needs that could arise during rescues. Commissioners asked staff to include the mine, the sheriff's office, Mountain Rescue, Climbers Alliance and other stakeholders and to revisit a 2017 work group's recommendations about a possible off-road parking area at County Road 361 as part of that broader conversation.

Ending

Staff agreed to propose dates for a February work session that would include CAIC and the local stakeholders identified in the meeting. The board asked staff to prepare background materials, including the 2017 work-group notes on a potential County Road 361 parking area and the Recreational Safety Act sign language and waiver examples to discuss how signage or waivers might be used at primary access points.