Date of Observation: 12/04/2022
Name: Dan Hohl

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Toured up WA Gulch to Second Bowl. Multiple collapses in flats below Coney’s and on the uptrack.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: One natural D1 avalanche in Cat’s Hat Glades. Bed surface did not appear filled in, likely occurred between in the last 24 hours.
Weather: Overcast skies, warm temps, light winds SW.
Snowpack: Average depth 75-80cm. Fist trending to 1F slab on top of large Facet layer located 45-55cm below the surface. Great riding conditions on lower angle terrain.

Date of Observation: 12/04/2022

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: 9600ft-10800, on SE-ENE aspects. Stayed on slopes in mid 20°s to low 30°s steepness in very isolated spots with no overhead danger.

Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches: Despite incredible whumpfing all day long, many of which rippled through snow hundreds of feet away from us, we saw no avalanches that haven’t already been reported here. We did trigger shooting cracks extending as much as 50 ft long.
Weather: Intermittently overcast, light wind at ~11k ridgeline, eventually light snow in late afternoon. Temps were high 20s-low 30s
Snowpack: Performed two ECT tests at sites at BTL and NTL elevations, roughly ENE facing. Season snow totals in both locations were near 1 meter. Storm slab from the past few days was about 45 cm and quickly transitioned from Fist hardness in the top 5 cm to 4F, to 1F in the bottom ~15 cm of this new snow. Below were a few decomposing sun crusts that ranged from 1F- to almost not present (Fist hard) at our upper pit. Below those were 2-3 mm sized facets all the way to the ground; this layer was ~30 cm in depth, and Fist hard.

Lower Pit Results: ECTP 3, Q1/Sudden Collapse @ 23 cm (within basal facets); after more loading, we got: ECTN 14, Q1 @ 35 cm (storm snow-old snow interface)

Upper Pit Results: We prepped and saw that the extensive whumpfing had already collapsed the same layers we saw shear in our lower pit, which unsurprisingly gave us a false stable result of ECT X, but still saw the same problematic structure.

Beyond attempting to nerd out, the snowpack made for perfectly supportive hippy wiggles.

Date of Observation: 12/04/2022

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Slate TH up the lower switchbacks of Gunsight Road and back.

Observed avalanche activity: No
Weather: Mostly cloudy, no wind, no precip
Snowpack: Really noisy. Continuous rumbling collapses and shaking trees as we skied up the road. Very little cracking observed. Jumped at the top of several steep banksides with no results. HS at 9400’ 60 cm. Ski pen 5 cm, boot pen 60 cm, Labrador pen to the belly. The slab deposited this week was very supportive to skis, not so much for the pooch. An early retreat was called.

Date of Observation: 12/04/2022

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Marble Point

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Evidence of previous Na cycle to size 3 (>72hrs old)
Weather: OVC, Warm temperatures 45F/7C at the parking area (8800ft) at 1030am
Snowpack: Above 10,000ft the upper snowpack was well settled and fast (4F resistance) with a 10cm skipen due to warm temps and previous wind. Below 10k the sfc is moist with a couple wet loose avalanches (<size 1) and large pinwheels on all aspects. 90cm of recent hst (4F) overlies an ugly mess of facets. Many whumphs in untracked areas with localized cracking.
TP @ 10,800ft, E Aspect, HS 130cm, CTM (SP) x2 dwn 90cm on the notable FC interface.

Date of Observation: 12/04/2022
Name: Benn Schmatz

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Traveled from Gothic along Rustlers Gulch Road up onto the lower slopes of Mount Bellview. Knowing the severe instability of northerly slopes we were curious how
South aspects are faring.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: R2 avalanche in the top of the bowl on Mount Bellview under the cornice. R1 avalanche seen in Gnarnia on East face of Baldy as well
Weather: Mid 20’s. 5/8 to 8/8 clouds calm wind
Snowpack: Cracking and collapsing was constant during our tour except for slopes that were bare prior to the most recent storm cycle. We picked a slope similar in aspect to the upper slopes of Mount Bellview and found a very cohesive storm slab covered by 11cm of fresh, light snow. The slab is resting upon a firm layer of old snow form October and Novemeber. This firm layer of old snow was covered in a weak layer of weak deformed grains (facets or hoar… hard to tell). This layer under the slab failed an extended column test at 22 taps.

Date of Observation: 12/04/2022
Name: Jason Sumner

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Red Lady Glades dad’ski. Standard skin track to goal posts. Standard ski down and out to road.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Viewed from skin track along ridge a decent sized crown and debris field on east side of bowl around 11,800 feet. Pulled out above rock band and ran into upper bowl on looker’s left.
Weather: Thin cloud layer. Intermittent gusty wind once out of forest and onto ridge.
Snowpack: Saw several cracks on way up and had one pronounced collapse during traverse from ridge to goalposts at around 12,000 feet on S/SW facing aspect. Coverage highly variable and quite thin in places due to wind transport but skiing was mostly decent all the way down to road.

Date of Observation: 12/03/2022
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Mount Emmons, E and NE aspects below treeline

Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches:
Weather: Light snowfall, light winds.
Snowpack: Went back to some terrain that I had traveled through experiencing widespread cracking/collapsing during the first storm on Tuesday. This time there were fewer collapses but they were louder and some radiated further, up to 300 feet. Forested terrain is also developing enough of a slab for localized collapses in little openings. However, the avalanche slopes that we got collapses on did not slide; it seemed like there was just barely enough ground roughness to keep the ~16” soft slab in place.

Date of Observation: 12/03/2022
Name: Sam Micka

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Up to the goal post on Emmons (via standard skin track), laps on the upper glades. Ski out standard exit

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Observed some naturals in the bowl but visibility did not allow a full picture of the slope.

Weather: Overcast, light snow, winds ~10mph above 11500, poor visibility.

Snowpack: Widespread collapsing and cracking above 11500 ft. About 5 or so inches of fresh powder. Photos include a shooting crack just off the standard skin track, some naturals in the bowl, and coverage from the “goal post” looking towards axtell and carbon.

Date of Observation: 12/02/2022
Name: Daniel K

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Started at Wash. Gulch winter TH and headed up to 10800 on the furthest north of the west facing bowls on Snodgrass.

Observed avalanche activity: No

Weather: Windy enough at the TH to consider bailing. It had calmed down significantly by the time we finished a little after dark

Snowpack: HS ranged from 45cm at the deepest and barely anything on some of the scoured aspects. Some sporadic crust/facet basal layers found in flat areas and W aspects above 10200. One medium collapse on this layer around 10400 on 25-30 degree W slope and a few small collapses lower down in flats. No storm slab encountered, though wind effect gave some cream to the surface. Right side up everywhere we found new snow directly on the ground surface

Date of Observation: 12/02/2022

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: NE all day. Started at 9600′ up to 10,800′

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Vis was poor on the sled ride up but we had one window which I noticed a disturbance in the snow BTL on a NE aspect. I assumed it was debris from a long-running slide path off the uphill ridge. Without binoculars, too hard to tell. On our ascent, we (obviously) felt, heard, and saw many signs of an incredibly unstable snowpack. Again, “touchy” is the word. Once on the ridge, above a suspect slope which is barely 30 degrees, one of my ski partners very easily kicked off a small slide which gouged to ground and funneled into the trees. Although not a large avalanche due to slope angle and terrain feature, it would have been a scary ride. On the ascent for our the second lap, we triggered another storm slab from about 100′ vertical below. Slab moved about 1′ at the apex and fractured most of the adjacent terrain (to ground), but low slope angle and small area meant that it didn’t quite have enough energy to fully rip.

Weather: Blustery and snowy

Snowpack: Most pole probes went to about 60cm on average. Relatively dense storm snow on top of garbage. Downhill was fun.