Friends of Berthoud Pass » Anouncements

Powderwhore: “TeleVision” Denver 2010 Premiere

fobp_admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:22:56 +0000

WHAT: “TeleVision: a telemark ski film by Powderwhore“
WHEN: 8:00 pm, November 6th and 7th, 2010.
WHERE: Casselman’s Bar & Venue, 2620 Walnut Street, Denver, CO 80205
WHY: Support Friends of Berthoud Pass grassroots avalanche education program.
WITH: Door prizes, silent auction and raffle.
WORTH: $10 in advance; $12 day of show.

CAIC final report 2009-2010 season

fobp_admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:23:16 +0000

Today our Friends at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued their final report for the 2009-2010 season.

Huge thanks and massive props to the CAIC for another season of fantastic forecasts, weather information and other invaluable resources to the backcountry traveler. There’s no question in our mind that the CAIC has kept more people safe in the Colorado winter backcountry than any other resource in the state and we will continue to support their efforts.

Thanks again, guys. Only four months until the season starts again!

Adopt-a-Highway litter collection

fobp_admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:02:37 +0000

June 19th, 8:00am – 2:00pm, Berthoud Pass Adopt-a-Highway litter clean-up.

We’ll spend an hour or two picking up other people’s candy wrappers and cigarette butts along US40, then fire up the grill, toss a Frisbee and down some cold ones.

Bring sunscreen and work gloves. We’ll provide trash bags, safety vests and lunch. Every volunteer gets a “I (heart) Berthoud Pass” t-shirt!

Come on out and join us in a really worthwhile effort.

Meet at the summit parking lot at 8:00.

Show some love

fobp_admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:10:18 +0000

These awesome new shirts are available now in our online store. If it’s worth saying, it’s worth saying loud.

Many thanks to our Friends at FlyLow and AMA for sponsoring this fresh new product.

Corn Harvest 2010

fobp_admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:01:01 +0000

It’s an annual rite of spring. Pressure and temperature, acting over time, changes the form of snow crystals and the structural strength, permeability, thermal conductivity and density of the snow becomes a velvety, silken, slushy sprayfest.

The end result at Loveland is a shedding of clothes, a tapping of kegs and more tomfoolery than you could shake a lurk at. The skiing is always great, the company is always fun, and the cause is an eternally good one.

Plus everybody gets lei’d.

9th Annual Loveland Corn Harvest and CAIC Fundraiser

FOBP Merchandise now available online

fobp_admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:15:51 +0000

Thanks to the efforts of our Friends at All Mountain Access we finally have an efficient and attractive e-commerce functionality!

Check out our stuff here. Shop early, shop often, keep supporting grassroots avalanche education and fly your Friends of Berthoud Pass colors high.

Check please

fobp_admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:51:48 +0000

In light of recent accidents in Colorado and elsewhere, we think it bears mentioning that our longtime Friends at BCA are developing really great avalanche beacon checker technology to protect backcountry skiers around the world. As always, we are grateful for BCA’s innovation and support.

http://backcountryaccess.com/blog/?p=1167

Are you beeping? BCA Beacon Checkers popping up at backcountry trailheads.

Posted on 22 February 2010

Edge

If you’ve been to the Wasatch or any other high-traffic trailhead recently, you might have noticed a BCA Beacon Checker flashing at you. We’ve been working with the Utah Avalanche Center to put these up at popular trailheads for snowmobilers and skiers/boarders. And we have several more going up on North America and Europe. Here’s our Beacon Checker at Noblett’s Trailhead in the Uintahs (that’s Craig Gordon speaking, from the Utah Avalanche Center):

So far, we have nine of our new Beacon Checkers in Utah, including the Noblett’s and Bear River trailheads, Solitude, Butler Fork (coming soon), two at Powder Mountain, and three in American Fork Canyon. We have another 15 or so outside Utah, including Sunshine Village (Alberta), Silverton Mountain, Highland Bowl (Aspen), Jackson Hole (coming soon), and Kitzsteinhorn, Austria.

These devices turn green if they detect a signal and red if not. They run on various power sources, including solar photovoltaic. If you walk by one of these and it’s not flashing green, then beware: Leave your beacon in the car? Batteries dead? Still in search mode from your trailhead test?

The goal is to make people aware that they should be carrying a beacon, shovel, and probe when they go into the backcountry. The sign also strongly advises checking the avi forecast and taking an avalanche course.

As of last week, however, we now have a new sign going out with each Beacon Checker. It advises always carrying a beacon, shovel, probe–and an avalanche airbag!

Read the back of the box

fobp_admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:20:46 +0000

Rescue group finds ignorant beacon owner who triggered false alarms

By Scott Willoughby
The Denver Post

Posted: 03/03/2010 01:00:00 AM MST

A frustrating two-month mystery that had baffled multiple search and rescue teams and county sheriff’s departments since early this winter was solved recently when officials discovered the source of repeated emergency false alarms emanating from the backcountry near Berthoud Pass.

Members of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group used special “direction finding equipment” to locate the owner of a “personal locator beacon” (PLB) that had been inadvertently triggered nine times between Dec. 11, 2009, and Feb. 11 by a backcountry skier from Fraser who mistook the unit for an avalanche beacon.

According to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, the owner had no idea that every time he turned on the ACR Electronics PLB-300 MicrOFix given to him as a birthday present, a distress signal was broadcast to international satellites linked to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.

As a result, several law enforcement and search and rescue teams were notified and scrambled to respond to the false alarms from Berthoud Pass to Crested Butte. By the time they arrived, the unit was turned off and rescuers were left to ponder.

Rocky Mountain Rescue Group members caught a break last month when the owner — a male in his late 20s whose name was not released — left the unit turned on and drove to a doctor’s appointment in Boulder.

The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation once the PLB was found. Investigators met with the owner and determined he was not aware of the consequences of turning on the beacon each time he was skiing. He faces no charges.

“He felt terrible. He just didn’t know,” said Paul “Woody” Woodward of Alpine Rescue Team. “Apparently he received it as a birthday present with a note that said, ‘Here’s an avalanche beacon. Be safe.’ And he never read the back of the box.”

Responders were able to trace the distress signals back to the same PLB, but because the unit was not registered, they had no way of contacting the owner.

“It’s more humorous now than anything,” said Woodward, adding that the units can save lives when used properly. “There are two lessons to take from this. The first is, how do we convince people to register these things? The second is: read the directions.”

To register a PLB visit: www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov.

Recent Colorado Avalanche Accidents

fobp_admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:02:36 +0000

A special Friday update from our Friends at the CAIC:

The CAIC knows of 14 people (and 1 dog) caught in human-triggered avalanches between February 11 and 18. One person was killed, three others injured. The avalanches were in the Front Range, Vail and Summit County, Aspen, and North San Juan zones. They occurred mostly on northeast and east aspects near and below treeline, and most ran to or near the ground. We know slope angles in the starting zones for 5 of the avalanches, which were all around 40 degrees.

[This is] worth sharing as we head into the weekend with avalanche danger on the rise. Enjoy the new snow, but play safe.

Backcountry Film Festival 2010

fobp_admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:09:42 +0000

Friends of Berthoud Pass and the Winter Wildlands Alliance present the best work from a variety of grassroots film makers. Come enjoy a selection of short and longer award-winning films featuring the best human-powered, deep-powder skiing on the planet. Proceeds to promote and preserve winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snowsports experience on public lands, and to preserve the legacy of human-powered winter recreation at Berthoud Pass.

Saturday, 2/6/2010, 8:00pm, The Oriental Theater, $5.00 at the door

Friday, 2/12/2010, 8:00pm, The Oriental Theater, $5.00 at the door

The Oriental Theater (4335 w.44th Ave, Denver 80212)

A ski and snowboarding tour of Berthoud Pass, Colorado.