OURAY – The Colorado Avalanche Information Center, based in Silverton, returns to Ouray for its 15th annual fundraiser on Dec. 4 at the Historic Western Hotel, 6-9 p.m. Always a rollicking good time, this year’s event promises to be better than ever with live music by Shed Nuisance, a hot new band from Ridgway. To lube the joints, New Belgium Brewing will provide the beer.

CAIC fundraisers are always well attended, by avid backcountry enthusiasts as well as people who appreciate the organization’s efforts to keep highways in the area safe for motorists. Each year Colorado often has the most avalanche related accidents in the United States. This is due to a particularly unstable snowpack combined with an ever-increasing number of people traveling into the backcountry to ski, snowboard, snowshoe, snowmobile, and climb.

The mission of the CAIC is to "promote safety by reducing the impact of avalanches on recreation, industry and transportation in Colorado through a program of forecasting and education."

Proceeds raised at the Dec. 4 event, through donations ($10 requested at the door) and silent auction items, provide an important addition to the CAIC’s annual budget, helping to improve public awareness of avalanche hazards in the area as well as support a strong internship program for future avalanche forecasters (three former interns have become forecasters).