TL;DR
Ski patrol triggered a sizeable wet loose avalanche in Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands in late April, with the slide captured on camera from Aspen Mountain's Sundeck Restaurant. The controlled avalanche suggests Highland Bowl won't reopen this season.
Patrol work shuts down Highland Bowl for the season
Aspen Highlands ski patrol triggered a sizeable wet loose avalanche in Highland Bowl in late April, with the controlled slide caught on camera from the Sundeck Restaurant across the valley on Aspen Mountain. Based on webcam timestamps, the avalanche occurred between 2:40pm and 2:50pm on a Wednesday afternoon.
Spring avalanche control continues despite dry weather
This is a useful reminder that avalanche mitigation work doesn't stop just because it hasn't snowed for a few weeks. Spring weather creates its own set of problems - wet loose avalanches become the primary concern as temperatures rise and snowpack stability changes throughout the day.
Patrol teams continue throwing explosives well into spring to manage these hazards, particularly on steep terrain that holds significant snow volume. It's ongoing work that the punters rarely see, largely because the terrain isn't open when this mitigation happens.
Highland Bowl likely done for the season
The Highland Bowl was closed when patrol triggered this slide, which is standard procedure. Looking at the debris field and snow quality visible in the footage, it's difficult to see how the bowl reopens before Aspen Highlands shuts down for the season.The Colorado Avalanche Information Center had forecast wet loose avalanches for that Wednesday, with the specific warning that smaller slides could gain mass as they moved downhill and potentially trigger larger, more destructive wet slab avalanches. That's exactly the scenario patrol teams are working to prevent in controlled circumstances.
