Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 01/16/2018
Name: Alex Banas
Subject: Red Lady Glades
Aspect: South East, South
Elevation: 9,400-12,000
Avalanches:
Weather:
Snowpack: Shallow snowpack with max HS observed at 60cm. Two distinct melt/freeze crusts in the mid-pack with the lower one caping 10cm of large-grained facets on the ground. Widespread surface hoar growth in the valley bottom. Not observed a few hundred feet up from the Kebler pass corridor.
Photos:
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 01/16/2018
Name: Irwin Cat Operation
Subject: Continued collapsing at Irwin
Aspect:
Elevation:
Avalanches:
Weather: Sunny and warm, very little wind. Not a cloud in the sky. High of 31 with strong solar.
Snowpack: 5 collapses today while regrouping with packers.
Photos:
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 01/16/2018
Name: Evan Ross. Eric Murrow
Subject: Natural Avalanche On Mt Owen
Aspect: East, South East, South
Elevation: 11,000-12,800
Avalanches:
Weather: Mostly clear sky and calm winds.
Snowpack:Â Didn’t feel any collapses or see any shooting cracks, but the weak layers are there on some slopes. Some slopes up in the alpine had a very hard mid-pack from the pre-christmas wind event.
Crown profile at 12,700ft on the northeast face of Mt Owen. HS 160. With an F to 1F slab 85cm thick capping the 12/23 facets. At the interface, these facets were 1 to 2mm and 4F+ hard. Deeper into basal facets they became 3mm depth hoar and F+ hard. This natural avalanche appeared to fail at the 12/23 interface but quickly gouged to the ground. HS-N-R2-D2.5-O. PST 70/180 end while dragging the saw just below the interface. PST 100/160 end while dragging the saw at the interface. On the map the crown is more NE looking.
Quick pit at 11,800 on an ESE aspect. HS 85. 4F+ mid-pack over small 4F facets about 25cms thick at the ground. ECTX. CTH on the 1/6 interface, small NSF. Structure wasn’t too concerning.
Photos:
Roller balls on steep southerly terrain
Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 01/16/2018
Name: Kirk H
Subject: Adventure Quest
Aspect: North, North East, East
Elevation: 11400 ft
Avalanches:
Past Avalanche activity observed , at least 5 . Most Big and to the Valley floor . See Pic’s
Weather: Calm, Sunny and Cold
Snowpack: There are many 4 letter expletive’s to describe the snowpack and “good” isn’t one of them.
Depending on where you poked 50-70cm in Depth. From the start to about 10,000ft lots of whumpfing and some cracking. Above 10k it stopped.
Photos:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 01/16/2018
Name: MR
Subject: Baxter Basin crowns galore
Aspect: North East, East, South East, South
Elevation: 9,600-12,500
Avalanches:
see photos. Widespread avalanches northeast to east from the thursday-friday storm. photos are of daisy pass area, martini couloir, and the ridge between angel pass and augusta
Weather:
Snowpack: skied south to southeast aspects on mix of windboard, zipper sun crusts, and sun softened supportable crust. Very aspect dependent, the subtlest changes in aspect produced big changes in snow quality. Fortunately we are amazing skiers so were able to enjoy the variety of conditions.
Photos:
Date: 01/16/2018
A long narrow ridge of high pressure sits just to our west this morning, extending from Arizona to the Canadian Rockies. This ridge will keep us under a light northwest to north flow today, tonight and tomorrow. Our next shot at snow looks like Friday night, so until then double up on the sunscreen.
High Temperature: 25
Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, Northwest
Sky Cover: Clear
Irwin Snow: 0
Elkton Snow: 0
Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
Low Temperature: 10, colder in the valley floor
Winds/Direction: 5 to 15, Northwest
Sky Cover: Clear
Irwin Snow: 0
Elkton Snow: 0
Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
High Temperature: 30
Winds/Direction: 5 to 10, North
Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
Irwin Snow: 0
Elkton Snow: 0
Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 01/15/2018
Name: Steve Banks
Subject: Irwin profile
Aspect: West
Elevation:
Avalanches:
Weather:
Snowpack: Dug a quick pit at 11,000’ on a West aspect in a slightly shaded spot. Found 73 cms of snow (much shallower higher, Little Deeper down lower).
No slab to speak of, but a CT column collapsed (SC) while cutting the back 19 cm up from the ground on the facet/depth hoar at the ground.
Strong solar and mild temps (high of 31 F) had the surface snow moistening with cinnamon buns rolling down the hill. Persistent but light NW winds helped with cooling up higher.
Photos:
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 01/15/2018
Name: Irwin Cat Operation
Subject: Snow Safety team report
Weather: Skies: Few, High Temp 31F, Winds Moderate with strong Gusts, NW transporting snow.
Solar radiation not too strong
Snowpack: HS 34″ at 8am, settled to 33″ by 4pm.  Overall weak and variable snowpack with Fist to 4F Midpack. Any slab that is developed is very discontinuous. HS: 30-80 cm’s with 15-30cm ski pen and boot pen to the ground. some isolated wind whales that are hard plastered in. SE, S, & SW had a thin MF crust from yesterday. in Eastern terrain, observed HS of 80-100cm’s just below ridge top that diminished to 40-60cm’s lower on slope and in the aprons. A few different MF crusts that were not very clean. ECTX no propagation. No avalanches triggered. We dug 2 profiles in Aprons and both had propagating ECT’s on the 12/21 interface. In the shaded glade ECTPV on 4mm DH. on a sunnier slope ECTP 29 SC. The sunnier slope also had two mid pack crusts (1/6 & 1/9) and most surface snow that will be a crust tomorrow.
Only One Collapses felt today in Sunset Right with Packers.
Photos:
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/15/2018
Name: Evan Ross. Avy 1 class
Subject:Â Colorado Backcountry Avalanche Course Observation
Aspect: North East, East, South East
Elevation: 9,800-11,000
Avalanches:
Weather: Mostly clear sky. In the trees for the most part, but winds seemed to be blowing a bit in the open.
Snowpack: Hard to find areas that have seen little previous traffic. On a NE slope at about 10,200ft, a collapsed produced shooting cracks. Otherwise few signs to instability given all the previous traffic in the area. On shaded slopes ski pen was about 15cm and the snowpack was unsupportive to boots. Got on one ESE facing slope with an HS of about 40cm with snow PS structure.
Photos:
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/15/2018
Name: Sarah Johnson
Subject: SheJumps Avi 1
Aspect:Â Northeast
Elevation: Below Tree Line
Avalanches:
Saw 2 previous avalanches on eastern aspects on ridge lines in coney’s area. One was previously reported on the ridge on 1/13/18 and one not known to be reported further south.
Weather: Warm; felt cool. NE Wind – light to moderate. Blowing snow. Few clouds.
Snowpack: No new snow. Wide-spread surface hoar. Snow height: 50-80 cm. Collapses: three in eastern facing rollover in a meadow with willows throughout area.
Photos:
