Video Captures Big Avalanche Ripping Down Aspen's Iconic Highland Bowl
On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, a big avalanche cruised down Highland Bowl, the famed alpine area at Aspen Highlands, Colorado.
The slide, a resort representative confirmed, was set off by avalanche mitigation efforts—a routine measure meant to keep skiers safe from moving snow. Highland Bowl wasn’t open at the time, and remains closed today.
Per the Aspen Highlands webcam, it happened sometime between 2:40 and 2:50 p.m.
In a stunning video filmed from afar, Kris Koneval caught the avalanche in motion.
“That’s awesome,” someone can be heard saying in the background. Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, presumably playing over the restaurant speakers, adds some additional drama. Tap or click below to watch.
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Beyond the boundaries of Aspen Highlands in the backcountry, where there aren’t ski patrollers to control avalanches when needed, forecasters called for “considerable” danger that day amid the hot March temperatures that have arrived in the West, breaking records.
“Smaller Loose Wet avalanches are punching out larger wet slabs as they tickle down start zones, creating some impressive slides,” the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) wrote, describing the mountains around Aspen’s ski resorts.
While avalanches are often associated with big winter storms, hot temperatures can also thaw and destabilize the snow.
These avalanches, called “wet avalanches,” usually travel slower than their drier counterparts. But they “can move very quickly in steep and constrained terrain and they produce very dense and destructive debris,” according to avalanche.org.
The avalanche danger in the area remained “considerable” on Thursday, with the CAIC cautioning that “you are likely to encounter cohesionless, wet snow on most steep slopes.” The organization added, though, that falling temperatures Thursday night could start to firm up the snowpack.
Aspen Highlands is slated to close for the season on April 12, according to the resort’s website. As of Thursday, three lifts were spinning, with 31 trails open.
Some of Colorado’s ski resorts have already closed, including Ski Cooper, Powderhorn, and Sunlight.
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