Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/23/2019
Name: Cosmo Langsfeld
Subject: Snodgrass
Aspect: North, East
Elevation: trailhead to 11000′
Avalanches:
From Snodgrass trailhead, observed several large avalanches on White mtn and WSC Peak on SW aspects with crowns just below ridgline. Another much smaller avalanche on same aspect at lower elevation on WSC. Clouds were rolling in as I pulled up to the trailhead, so couldn’t get a clear picture, but they looked to be fresh-ish (sometime since the last storm).
Weather: Partly cloudy, then overcast with light snowfall. Light, swirling winds.
Snowpack: Supportive. Ski pen 4-8 inches. Not supportive to boot. Snow surface was soft powder with some minor wind scouring up top. Dug a pit on shallow angle (maybe 20-25 degree) north facing slope at around 11000′. Snow height 140cm. From top down– 140-120: soft fresh snow, 120-30: 4f to fist with a few distinct layers, below 30 was a mix of large grained sugar with spots of ice up to pencil hardness. Compression test produced failure on crust at 30cm above ground level after second tap from the elbow.
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