Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 03/30/2020
Subject: Gothic 7am Weather Update
Weather: Some snow after dark for a couple hours and then a bit more starting around 4 a.m. so new snow totals are 3″ with a light 0.17″ of water. snow pack is at 48½”. After a cold start to yesterday (2ºF) it is milder this morning with a low of 19F and currently 22F. No wind which is nice. Currently obscured with light snow.
Date: 03/30/2020
The low-pressure trough is moving through Colorado this morning. Upper elevation winds are light for once and overnight snow accumulations only look like a dusting. Between early this morning and noon today is when the magic has got to happen. This will be our best chance for accumulating snow. Another 2 to 4” is in the forecast, big money lets beat that. This afternoon we’ll be moving into a drying trend for the coming week.
For Monday Night and looking out through most of the next week. We’ll be just south of any storms or snow for this time period. We’ll see an increase in winds and an increase in temperatures. We don’t have snow in the coming week’s forecast, but we do have the sun.
High Temperature: 31 to 35
Winds/Direction: 5 to 15/WNW
Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
Irwin Snow: 2 to 4
Elkton Snow: 2 to 4
Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3
Low Temperature: 18 to 22
Winds/Direction: 5 to 15/W
Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
Irwin Snow: 0
Elkton Snow: 0
Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
High Temperature: 35 to 39
Winds/Direction: 8 to 18/WSW
Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
Irwin Snow: 0
Elkton Snow: 0
Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/29/2020
Name: Dave Bum
Subject: Cornice – Red Lady skin track
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 11,600
Avalanches: Cornice Fall near the cliff band section of the Red Lady skin track.
Surprisingly close to the track that everyone uses. 10+ people where ahead of us. It failed right after we past it.
Weather: Time 11:45 which was right before the weather rolled in and probably the warmest part of the day with the most solar.
Wind: Calm
Location: Cement Creek Area
Date of Observation: 03/29/2020
Subject: East face Cement Mountain
Aspect: East
Elevation: 12,200
Avalanches: Cornice fall triggered R2D2 slide within the last few days. Looks to have run about 1,000 vertical feet.
Location: Cement Creek Area
Date of Observation: 03/29/2020
Name: Zach Kinler
Aspect: North, North East, East, South East, South
Elevation: 9,000′-12,400′
Avalanches:
Hunter Hill 12,500′ ENE- 2x D2.5 Persistent Slab
Lambertson Pk 11,800′ W- D1.5 Persistent Slab
These avalanches were estimated to have run sometime during the 3/24-3/26 wind event, likely being triggered by cornice falls.
Weather: Increasing clouds with light snow showers developing over higher terrain by afternoon, light to moderate S/SW wind on ridgeline. Temps above ~11K remained below freezing.
Snowpack: 1-2″ HST from Friday/Saturday’s shortwave. Southerly breezes would occasionally move small amounts of recent snow onto leeward aspects above tree line however minimal recent wind slab development observed in this area. Stacks of crusts present in the upper snowpack on sunny slopes. Recent large avalanches and cornice falls were observed on drifted easterly alpine features similar to what has been seen around other parts of the area following the wind event.
Date: 03/29/2020
The stars are out this morning and we should have a nice sunrise, but clouds are on their way for Sunday. An approaching shortwave will put us in southwest flow today and moisture ahead of that storm will be pushing high clouds into the area. If not sooner, we’ll be under cloud cover by mid-day. We may see some very light snowfall in the Ruby Range this afternoon, but snow showers don’t look to get going until sunset or this evening. For the mountains west and north of Crested Butte, 2 to 4” tonight and 2 to 4” for tomorrow still looks like the range of snow.
Heading into Tuesday and the week ahead, it looks like we’ll be sitting under dry westerly flow. Any snow is looking to stay to our north at the moment.
High Temperature: 30 to 34
Winds/Direction: 5 to 15/WSW
Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
Irwin Snow: 0 to 1
Elkton Snow: 0 to 1
Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 1
Low Temperature: 12 to 16
Winds/Direction: 2 to 12/SW
Sky Cover: Overcast
Irwin Snow: 2 to 4
Elkton Snow: 2 to 4
Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3
High Temperature: 30 to 34
Winds/Direction: 5 to 15/WNW
Sky Cover: Overcast
Irwin Snow: 2 to 4
Elkton Snow: 2 to 4
Friend’s Hut Snow: 1 to 3
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 03/28/2020
Name: Steve banks
Subject: Wind slabs
Aspect: West
Elevation: 11,000
Avalanches: 3x D1 wind slabs somewhat intentionally triggered on suspect terrain features in near treeline type terrain.
Weather: In and out snow showers with some sunny breaks as well. Light WSW winds. Cold temps but warm periods in sheltered areas when the sun popped out.
Snowpack: Up to a foot of new snow over a soft-ish crust. New snow was dense and “slabby” and not amazingly well bonded to old surfaces. Did not look below the new snow old snow interface.
Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 03/28/2020
Name: Evan Ross
Subject: Upper Washington Gulch
Aspect: East, South
Elevation: 10,500-12,500
Avalanches: Kicking cornices onto an easterly facing slope at ~11,700ft, mostly produced loose snow avalanches and a few thin wind slabs. The largest cornice was about a VW Jetta size. That one was a hair-trigger, as it had grown off of a faceted root and a rocky outcrop. That Jetta landed on a loaded section of the slope below, that was further perched between other rock outcrops. A 45 to 55cm slab further pulled out. That slab didn’t propagate notably far in the terrain and produced no results on the more uniform snowpack it eventually ladened on. D1.5 in size.
Weather: Broken cloud cover with bits of sun coming and going. The Ruby Range hung in the clouds the most and of course further east appeared to have fewer clouds. Winds appeared to be the strongest in the morning. Around 10am at the trailhead blowing snow was light, by the time we claimed into the alpine midday, blowing snow was also light.
Snowpack: Well, I called about 5″ of recent new snow near Elkton. My partner called 1″, I’m going to go with my number… Less snow than expected. The previous winds made measuring new snow depths pointless near and above treeline. Lots of hard wind-board from the extreme wind event, sitting just under the new snow. Of course, lots of old crusts out there too making for some scrappy, but low hazard skiing. The main avalanche problems encountered where fresh Wind Slabs and Cornice Hazards.
The extreme wind event made some monster cornices. No wonder we saw so many big avalanches below corniced ridgelines.
Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 03/28/2020
Name: billy barr
Subject: Gothic 7am Weather Update
Weather: Light, scattered snow Friday with scattered light, but dense, snow overnight. Totals ar 2″ new snow with 0.20″ water with snowpack at 47″. It is currently cloudy with a very light snow and the low temp. 10F, which is also the current. Wind is currently light from the west and was moderate during the night. Wind continued to move snow yesterday.
Location: Cement Creek Area
Date of Observation: 03/28/2020
Name: Cosmo
Subject: Cement Creek Snow
Elevation: 9300′
Weather: 1 inch of new snow on the ground this morning.
