Date of Observation: 05/26/2022
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Traveled on N and NE aspects of Gothic Mtn, to 11,900′

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A couple of large wet slabs on the north side of Gothic ran during last week’s heat wave, along with what looks like a large wet avalanche near Daisy Pass. Also a few wet loose up to D1.5 in Copper Creek.
Traveled over fairly extensive tree damage on a previously undocumented slide presumably from the holiday cycle.
Weather: Sunny, light breeze.
Snowpack: Drainage through the snowpack is well established here, even on northerly aspects. Snow surfaces are old, dusty, and sun-textured, with very thin pockets of white snow from the past storm. Given how mature the surface is, it seems that wet loose concerns are isolated to very steep, rocky slopes. Traveled on a few suspect slopes that were past prime and couldn’t get anything to move, despite shin-deep ski and knee-deep boot pen near shallow rocky areas. Cornices still pose a threat above some slopes.

Date of Observation: 04/23/2022
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Northwest Mountains & Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Ski tour Mount Axtel in Second Bowl in the morning and pavement avalanche obs in the evening.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Easily skier-triggered several loose avalanches in the storm snow on Axtel in sheltered terrain. While driving around in the evening I observed evidence of numerous avalanches on Gothic Mountain’s east bowl (most looked to be loose avalanches but a couple below ridge top may have been Wind Slabs – poor vis). Two small Wind Slabs on drifted alpine terrain on Whetstone. Visibility never allowed for good avalanche observations in drifted terrain other than on Axtel, Whetstone, and Emmons.
Weather: Light snowfall and moderate winds on Axtel in the AM with 11″ storm snow at 11am. Periods of broken skies around Crested Butte throughout the day with clearing skies above town around sunset. The Ruby Range remained obscured all day.
Snowpack: While touring on Axtel, I found a storm density change in the middle of the storm snow that took moderate force to fail in Shovel Tilt Tests; no cracking in sheltered terrain just easily triggered loose avalanches up to D1.5. Bonding between the new snow and the old crust was good in the sheltered terrain I traveled through. I stomped on a few small drifts, up to 16 inches deep, near treeline on Axtel and was able to produce ski-length cracking.
Later in the day at 2pm, I poked into some north-facing slopes near town at 9,000′ and found 7 inches of storm snow that was moist and sticky throughout from the mild air temps at low elevations.

Date of Observation: 04/15/2022
Name: Evan Ross

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Kebler Pass area. 9,500ft to 12,000ft. Various aspects.

Weather: Overcast in the morning, partly cloudy for a bit mid-day, before increasing again in the late afternoon. W or SE winds are still blowing snow at upper elevations.

Snowpack: At near and below treeline elevations the snow service got moist or wet on north to east aspects. Mostly just roller balls on northerly facing slopes and not sure at what elevation the snow surface stayed dry. East was the most reactive at these elevations with small loose wet avalanche activity. Didn’t travel above treeline, looking into the ruby range you could see some roller balls or small loose snow avalanches on steep southerly facing slopes with rock outcrops. Found wind slabs up to a foot thick, but couldn’t get any notable results. Many things are blown off or just not loaded. The wind slab problem felt isolated and stubborn at NTL elevations.

Date of Observation: 04/14/2022
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Slate River corridor to Purple Ridge.

Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches: The light was extremely flat which made it difficult to read the terrain. I did not observe any slab avalanches but could see some dusty (brown), narrow bed surfaces on lee slopes at upper elevations. I suspect most of these were small loose avalanches from the previous day.
Weather: Overcast skies, no precip, and generally light winds with moderate gusts at ridge top. I observed some loading on to easterly aspects up high.  Winds were a bit lighter than expected and fetchs on westerly slopes have become stiff and are running low on transportable snow.
Snowpack: I traveled through mostly open terrain at all elevations and found snow surfaces to be noticeably stiffer than the previous day. Numerous hasty hand pits below treeline produce not concerning behavior. The new snow is well bonded to crusts below however shovel tilt tests continue to produce a planar result near the bottom of the storm snow. It took more force today to get a result in shovel tilt tests. Digging in well drifted leeward feature I was not able to get any notable test results even though there is a clear strong over weak structure present (see image). The most drifted terrain had a stiff surface that was supportive to skis. I was not able to produce any shooting cracks or find signs of instability yet chose to avoid the skiing drifted slopes.

Date of Observation: 04/13/2022
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Slate River Corridor to Pittsburg. Skied into the basin on east side of Schuylkill Peak.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: I observed a few small loose snow avalanches, two slab avalanches in wind-drifted terrain, and skier triggered two small wind slabs near treeline that were 12 to 18 inches deep. Poor visibility limited views into the Ruby Range.
Weather: Overcast skies, cool temperatures, and the constant westerly wind. Occasional light snowfall in the afternoon but no accumulations. During periods of improved visibility, there was a constant stream of blowing snow at upper elevations focusing on the easterly aspects.
Snowpack: At 10,500 feet I measured 12 inches of storm snow with 1.1″ SWE near Schuylkill Peak. In sheltered areas, I found storm snow without slab properties but a storm density change near the bottom of storm snow. Sheltered terrain could produce loose avalanches on very steep terrain. As soon as I found drifted terrain, I was able to produce shooting cracks up to 20 feet and easily triggered two small slabs on leeward rolls in the basin. Leeward features had drifts up to 2 feet thick. The triggered avalanches failed on the density change near the base of the storm snow.

Date of Observation: 04/12/2022
Name: Evan Ross Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Mt Axtell, Northerly, 9,500ft to 11,500ft

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: In steep terrain near 40 degrees the new snow sluffed easily. Several natural loose snow avalanches in similar terrain. A few small pockets produced a very small slab. All avalanche activity was small in size.

Weather: This was an afternoon tour. Accumulating snowfall continued through the afternoon with a few breaks of clearing weather. Down valley winds were transporting snow, but we were hanging out in mostly wind sheltered areas.

Snowpack: 6 to 7 inches of new snow on average with some settlement through the day with the periods of sun popping out. On NE and E facing terrain the new snow was more noticeably thick and settling quicker. On steep due north facing terrain the riding conditions were the best with a deeper and dryer feel. No real slab avalanche problems were encountered in this mostly wind-sheltered terrain, and loose dry avalanches were the primary problem. Those avalanches were predictable and relatively easy to manage.

Date of Observation: 04/09/2022
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Traveled on NE to SE aspects on Mt. Afley to 12,600 ft this morning, and a brief bino tour along Kebler Pass Road mid day.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Counted a handful of small wet loose avalanches on easterly aspects, a few of which ran yesterday and a few more that ran today, all D1 in size. See photos.
Weather: Thin cloud cover began filling in over the Ruby Range by late morning, with cloud cover holding off a little longer over the Anthracites and Axtell. Moderate westerly ridgetop winds. Warm temps.
Snowpack: Weaker overnight refreeze that was punchy to boot pen (~10″) on a number of slopes but still supportive to skis. We found ideal corn skiing on SE aspects at 10:30 a.m. By 11 a.m, ski pen was increasing to 5″ or 6″ in wet snow on east facing terrain near treeline. The arrival of thicker clouds by noon seemed to help moderate surface melt. Northeast aspects got moist in the upper 6″ or so, and produced a few small wet loose slides while most slopes on that aspect were too roughed up by previous winds to do much.