Gothic Townsite 6am Obs

CB Avalanche Center2019-20 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/14/2019
Name: billy barr

Subject: Gothic Townsite 6am Obs

 

Elevation: 9400
Weather: Snow stopped near sunrise yesterday and it stayed dry, though very windy, the rest of the day. Wind let up near sunset and snow started just at dark and continued through the night. Wind was mild until becoming strong near 4 a.m. as snowfall continued. Totals so far are 7″ new snow with 0.56″ SWE and snowpack at 27½”. Currently light snow and strong wind, about 8-15 W gusting to 30. Temperature dropped to 18F but gradually climbed to the current 26F. It is not nice out there. billy

 

Gothic Valley

CB Avalanche Center2019-20 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/13/2019
Name: Steve Banks

Subject: Gothic Valley

Aspect: North East

Elevation: 9,500’
Avalanches:

No avalanches observed.

Weather: Left the Snodgrass TH a little after 2 pm in a nice lull in the storm. Got a little sun, broken skies and light winds. Could see moderate to intense wind loading at ridge top on White Mtn. Temps started off relatively mild in the mid 20’s and dropped significantly through the afternoon. Ceiling dropped and light snow beginning again by 5 pm.

Snowpack: Average 7” of new snow BTL with some wind effect. Average HS 40cms. Still lots of grass and bushes showing on southerly slopes. Stomping on steep road cuts produced some cracking, though less than expected. Cracks went full depth to basal facets.

 

Storm Break Tour

CB Avalanche Center2019-20 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/13/2019
Name: Joey Carpenter

Subject: Storm Break Tour

Aspect: East, South East, South

Elevation: 9400-11900
Avalanches:

From the car (estimated) R1D2 SE face baldy

E face Emmons ridge 11.5k R1D1.5 gouged into scree at the ground on this 40 degree+ (estimate) crown was partially filled by the time I saw this approximately 24 inch deep slide.

Weather: OVC throughout tour from 1430-1700. Break in the storm provided light winds, little to no snowfall. S2 rates started by the time I reached 11k. Westerly winds picked up during my transition causing heavy snow transport along visible ridges. Snowpack: The higher in elevation, the denser the slab felt through pole probing and quick hand puts. Especially drifted areas. I did get some small collapses but nothing substantial. Slope angles were kept in check and all steep terrain was avoided. Snow totals at 11k were 9 inches.

Irwin Cat Ski Operation

CB Avalanche Center2019-20 Observations

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 12/13/2019
Name: Irwin Guides

Subject: Irwin Cat Ski Operation

Aspect: South West, West

Elevation: 10-12,000
Weather: Full storm conditions with whiteout conditions above treeline before 1300, tapering to a
nice lull with lifting ceilings and much decreased wind. Temps remained cold in the upper teens at 12k.
Total storm accumulation sits at 13″ with 1.5″. Total accumulation during the day was 1″ rimed snow with .2″
water. Snowpack: Pasted wind-driven snow largely lacked signs of instability most of the day. Last
runs of the day in MWW produced skier triggered storm slabs 20-45cm deep toward the end of the day, and other
small slopes began to crack off ski tips on UWW terrain (Outer limits, Assassin pockets). Profile dug in
Outer Limits revealed PST20/100(end), and PST30/100(end) down 60cm in early November facets.

Cement Creek New Snow

CB Avalanche Center2019-20 Observations

Location: Cement Creek Area
Date of Observation: 12/13/2019
Name: Cosmo

Subject: Cement Creek New Snow

Aspect:

Weather: Cement Creek @ 9400’- 5.5” new snow as of 5am Friday

Gothic Townsite 6am Obs

CB Avalanche Center2019-20 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/13/2019
Name: billy barr

Subject: Gothic Townsite 6am Obs

Aspect:

Elevation: 9400
Weather: Cloudy and mild with snow starting up after dark and going moderate until after midnight, then lighter as wind becomes moderate with strong gusts. Snow board at 5:30 shows 6½” new snow and 0.48″ water as snow pack reaches winters high of 22″. Wind is moderate and gusting from the west with currently light and blowing snowfall. Little temp. movement with the overnight high 26, low 24 and current 24ºF. I will update after 7 a.m. sweep. billy

Mountain Weather for 11,000ft

CB Avalanche CenterWeather

Date: 12/13/2019

A complicated, multi-stage storm will drop significant snow accompanied by strong westerly winds today through tomorrow. A well defined stream of moisture with origins near Hawaii will arc over Northern California and slam into the Elk Mountains riding a 170-200kt jet (impressive!) today, with models showing the heaviest snowfall early Saturday morning. Today, light snow will generally continue, with areas near Kebler and Schofield Passes will seeing the most steady orographic snow continue most of the day. Around sunset, snowfall with taper, before the next wallop arrives Friday night into Saturday. West-Northwest winds will continue to gust into the 40-50mph range above timberline throughout this event. Temperatures will remain quite mild in the mid to upper 20s and may even even rise into the lower 30s with the the moister airmass tomorrow. Today, look for daytime snow accumulations less than 6”, but the main event Friday night into Saturday should not disappoint. Total storm snow accumulations look to easily exceed 20” across the high terrain surrounding Crested Butte by Sunday morning.

  • Today

    High Temperature: 20-25
    Winds/Direction: 20 G40-50/WNW
    Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
    Irwin Snow: 3-6″
    Elkton Snow: 3-6″
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 2-4″

  • Tonight

    Low Temperature: 20-25
    Winds/Direction: 20 G40-50/WNW
    Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
    Irwin Snow: 4-8″
    Elkton Snow: 4-8″
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 3-6″

  • Tomorrow

    High Temperature: 25-30
    Winds/Direction: 25 G50-60
    Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
    Irwin Snow: 4-8″
    Elkton Snow: 4-8″
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 3-6″

Mountain Weather for 11,000ft. Thursday 12/12.

CB Avalanche CenterWeather

Date: 12/12/2019

We have another cold morning. Partly cloudy sky overnight helped those low temps again drop down to near 0 in the valleys and the low teens in the mountains. A Pacific river of moisture has made its way into the US and will give us a nice spray here in Colorado to close out the week. Clouds will be thickening on Thursday with some light snowfall late this afternoon. Then the action gets going on Thursday Night into Friday Morning. The snowfall ramps up on Thursday night, and by Friday morning we’ll have, good available moisture, good upper-level jet support, and WNW orographics kicking in. This all should line up for some heavy pulses of snow on Friday morning. The wind speeds will also be elevated during this time so get ready for some real winter storm conditions during the early AM hours of Friday.

The hose of moisture streaming into Colorado looks to falter a bit for a period of time on Friday. If this happens we’ll see an associate lull in snowfall. That moisture stream then realigns Friday Afternoon and into Saturday with an even better round of snow. By Sunday the moisture currently looks to sag south of our area, otherwise, we could see snow continue towards the end of the weekend if that moisture stays further north in later forecast model runs.

  • Today

    High Temperature: 24 to 28
    Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
    Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
    Irwin Snow: 0 to 2
    Elkton Snow: 0 to 2
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2

  • Tonight

    Low Temperature: 16 to 20
    Winds/Direction: 15 to 25 G40, West
    Sky Cover: Overcast
    Irwin Snow: 5 to 8
    Elkton Snow: 5 to 8
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 4 to 7

  • Tomorrow

    High Temperature: 20 to 24
    Winds/Direction: 10 to 20, West
    Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
    Irwin Snow: 2 to 4
    Elkton Snow: 1 to 3
    Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3

Baxter basin obs

CB Avalanche Center2019-20 Observations

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/10/2019
Name: Lawson

Subject: Baxter basin obs

Aspect: East, South East, South

Elevation: 10-12
Avalanches:

Small pocket soft slabs on E facing terrain. Releasing inches deep w no propogation wider than ski.

Weather: Cold. High wispy clouds Snowpack: Deep! 1-2 meters HS