Name: Ben Pritchett
Location: Snodgrass
Date of Observation: 01/05/2015

Snowpack: No questions about the distribution of the Dec 13th weak layer. It’s widespread and continuous in the Crested Butte zone in the near and below treeline areas. The uncertainty with the Persistent slab problem is with distribution of the slabs themselves. Based on observations over several days around the Slate and Washington Gulch areas, seems like the collapsing happens pretty consistently (several to many a day) in undisturbed areas where there is more than 45-50cm of recent snow on the Dec 13 interface. If there is less than 40cm over the Dec 13 layer, seems like the skiing gets punchy and you’re penetrating through the slab skiing in the weak layer, surfing facets. Bottom line, in the shallower snowpack zone around town, ski pen is a pretty handy observation at the moment to track the presence or absence of the persistent slab problem across terrain features; if ski penetration is less than about 20cm, it’s likely that you’re riding on top of a slab that’s perched on a guilty weak layer. Right now, contrary to the common strategy of avoiding weak areas, it worked well to stick to the shallower weaker snow and surf the facets. I’m inclined to avoid skiing steeper slopes below treeline that feel supportive.

3 collapses, each in open areas where slab was supportive (ski pen

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 01/04/2015
Aspect: North
Elevation: below treeline

Avalanches: I traversed the small, shallow, cross loaded slope toward dense trees. The slope collapsed and propagated ten feet above me and ~100 ft wide. The angle was low 30’s so it was very slow moving and I had no problem getting to the trees. The crown was about 2ft and composed entirely of dense wind slab. the top ~30ft ran on the ground and some debris slid~300ft, stopping at the trees. We also noticed an east facing slide up moonscape. It appeared to be natural, wind slab under a cornice, maybe ~50 ft wide R1 D1

Weather: cloudy, west winds ~20mph

Snowpack: We saw an old crown that seemed to propagate across the skiers right half of Axtel’s 2nd bowl. It was pretty filled in. There was not a place near the start zone that we felt comfortable digging a pit. We decided to ski corner pocket of first bowl. Lower in first bowl, the snow became more wind affected. We took the gully right, crossing scoured snow. At a high point of lower angle terrain between the exits of 1st and 2nd bowl, the slope was heavily cross loaded.

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Name: Peter Richmond
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/03/2015
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 10, 600

Avalanches: Yes, one large slide, after ski cut, skier traversed out of slide, the area was in the glades at the very top of slope that progressed to open area, traveled 500 ft, crown was 2-3 ft, 200 ft across at largest area, debris pile 250 ft across 5-10ft deep, broke trees 8” in diameter,

Small slides in glades the entire way to the Gothic Road, Second slide propagated into exposed 34 degree slope, from tight trees, could have also buried skier in opening

Snowpack: Very unstable, it may have been an isolated area, but there were point releases all the way down to the Gothic Road in the glades (tight trees, pocket releases, around anchors), a little wind blown layer on top, facet layer 2-3 feet deep. 32-42 degree slope angles,

Most unstable snow pack I’ve skied Snodgrass in, probably been up there 30 times over 7 years.

No prior ski compaction

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Name: Zach Guy
Title: Windslabs and variable persistent slab structure in Oh-Be-Joyful
Location: Kebler Pass Area to Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/03/2015
Aspect: North, North East, South East, South, North West
Elevation: 12,000 feet to 9,000 feet

Avalanches: Widespread cracking on windloaded features and numerous touchy windslabs up to 10″ deep on SE aspects near and above treeline, running on the thin suncrust that formed yesterday. SS-ASc-R1-D1-I. See photos. Also some cracking and very thin pockets (2-3″ thick) released in relatively sheltered, northerly ATL terrain, potentially on the surface hoar layer that was observed yesterday(?) Didn’t look at the interface closely.

Weather: Overcast to broken skies. Strong NW winds, with moderate to heavy snow transport. .Moderate snowfall (S2), with about 2-4″ accumulated through the day.

Snowpack: Traversed from the headwaters of Oh-Be-Joyful basin to Slate River trailhead monitoring PS problem. Near the headwaters, at 10,000 feet in the far west end of the basin, the snowpack was 200 cm deep. In the pit, the Dec 13th facet layer was indiscernible to the naked eye and in hardness profiling, and it produced non-propagating results about 80 cm from the surface. (ECTN25, Q3 ). Moving east and gradually losing elevation, the layer became noticeable to pole probing (hollow feeling under denser slab) where the snowdepth was roughly 100 cm to 80 cm deep, just upvalley of where Peeler Basin enters Oh-Be-J at 9,600 feet. Around here we started noticing soft collapses underfoot. Further east down-valley, around 9,400 feet below the Redwell runout, the slab felt mostly gone to faceting, with easy pole probing throughout, no more collapses, and a snow depth around 40-60 cm.

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Name: ADB
Title: Mt. Emmons
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/03/2015
Aspect: South East, South
Elevation:

Avalanches: None in the bowl.

Weather: Mostly cloudy with pockets of sunshine. Snow flurries were constant with negligible accumulations. Along south ridge and below summit ridges, winds were light and unable to transport snow.

Snowpack: Skin track above south ridge had less than one inch of new storm snow. At the base of south ridge at the transition from tree line to alpine, found 2 to 3 inch stiff wind slab. Found a softer wind slab below the summit ridge, which was around 3 inches thick. Top of the bowl on the west side had soft slab snow.

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Name: Donny
Title: Washington Gulch
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/02/2015
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: 9500-11000

Avalanches:

Weather: WEATHER: Clear, calm and 6ºF at 9,400′ @ 09:30. Clear, light NW wind and 20ºF at 12:30 @ 10,800′. Clear, calm and 8ºF at 9,400′ @ 15:30.

Snowpack: SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: The mountains were chatty today. Surface hoar and near surface facets on all elevations and aspects. Ski pen varied widely. From 5 cm on more southern tilted ridges to 40cm on more northern aspects below treeline. First run in the trees felt like surface facets separated from basel facets by a thin crust. Not much of a slab. Out in the open part of Coney’s was much different. East aspects were cross-loaded from down valley winds and this wind slab was reactive. Several collapses and large shooting cracks visible, even under 5cm of new snow/SH. At one point (~10,200′ / East aspect) we collapsed a slope with visible cracks surrounding us. Slope angle was about 25º. Moving on to more north aspects meant the wind slab wasn’t as pronounced, but it was much easier to “sink” to the 12/13 interface. It had a spooky feeling about it. I have included a couple photos of the remote triggered slide in Coney’s from 12/30. It looks like a R3-D2. The crown is about 50cm. It ran about 400 vertical feet.

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Name: than
Title: warmth
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 01/02/2015
Aspect: East
Elevation: atl

Avalanches: surface sluffs on steep east facing aspects above treeline, small but running full track starting around 11 a.m. in Evans Basin

Weather:

Snowpack: surface hoar

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Name: Alex Banas
Title:
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/02/2015
Aspect:
Elevation:

Avalanches: the bowl was tracked out almost wall to wall

Weather: Calm and balmy

Snowpack: Dug around red coon glades on a 32 degree SE aspect @11,500. shallow 80 cm snowpack with 16cm of DH below an interesting melt freeze faceted layer. CT19 Q1 @ 16 cm from the ground. ECTX. Skiing felt a bit punchy and the pack was warming up quickly throughout the early afternoon. Surface hoar was widespread on all aspects and elevations but the more solar aspets seemed to be burning off the hoar, the shady aspects were holding strong with larg hoar. Looking north towards S maroon pk I saw S, SE aspects flushing seemingly large, mostly on steep slopes with lots of rock features.

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