Whetstone Avalanche (and one from Cement Mountaint) – upper elevations

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/25/2021
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Roadside avalanche obs.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Numerous near and above treeline avalanches on northwest through north through east aspects.

Photos:

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Whetstone Avalanches, below and near treeline

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/25/2021
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Roadside avalanche observations of Whetstone

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Natural avalanche activity below treeline on north through east aspects. See photos for some exampbles.

Photos:

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Shred Lady Glades

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/25/2021
Name: Evan Ross

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Up the main track, down the glades.

Avalanches: On the up track, we watched a group trigger a large slab avalanche on a NE to E section of Red Lady Bowl.

While skiing a low-angle section of Red Lady Glades we triggered a large avalanche on a much steeper east-facing aspect at 11,300ft below treeline. The crown height averaged an estimated 85cm, and varied between an estimated 75cm to 120cm. I dug into the crown on a low angled section of the slope where it pulled back close to the ridge. At that location the slab released on small facets at the 12/23 interface. I’ve watched this slope release a few times now. This was the furthest I’ve seen it run through the flats in the runout.

Red Lady Bowl had a natural avalanche that released on from the east-facing lookers left corner of the bowl. This is a heavily wind-loaded terrain feature. The crown was mostly unrecognizable and covered with new snow. The avalanche debris were also difficult to see. The avalanche appeared to run fairly far into the lower angled terrain below the bowl.

Mt Axtel had several large to very large avalanches released during the last storm. Green Lake Bowl, 4th Bowl, and the Pencil area. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a good view or good picture to more closely examine the crowns or debris piles.

Weather: Mostly cloudy sky and orographic snow showers in the morning, dissipated throughout the day. Few clouds in the evening. Light winds where we traveled. Snow plumes at times on the higher terrain but not consistently loading.

Snowpack: The Santa Slab is fat. We observed no obvious signs of instability given the thick slab, but observed two impressive avalanches release. Dug one pit at on a low angle south-facing slope at 11,000ft. The 75cm Santa Slab was well bonded to the 12/23 crust. No test results above or below the crust. Impressive ski quality. The low angle was ripping.

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Avalanche Obs from Gothic to Copper to Brush Creek

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/25/2021
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Viewed from afar from Mt. Crested Butte

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: My vantage was of mostly southerly and windward aspects (southeast to west). Relatively less activity on these aspects, but a handful of large slides.

Photos:

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Paradise Divide to Schofield Pass avalanche obs

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/25/2021
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Viewed from afar from Mt. Crested Butte

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Numerous large avalanches on various aspects. I had good views of easterly and southerly aspects, but from afar. Sizes and avalanche type coded below are estimated from a distance, without clear views of runouts.

Photos:

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Southern Ruby Range obs

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/25/2021
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Viewed from afar from Mt. Crested Butte

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Numerous large avalanches on various aspects. From my vantage, I could only see the east half of the compass, and I saw activity on all of those slopes. Sizes and avalanche type coded below are estimated from a distance, without clear views of runouts.

Photos:

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Washington Gulch snowmobile and pavement tour

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/24/2021
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Snowmobiled out Washington Gulch Road to 10,000 feet and obs from pavement at 4pm.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: I remotely triggered a small avalanche on a northeast-facing slope at 10,000 feet, D1.
While driving by Meridian lake at 4pm, I observed a small avalanche that appeared to fail about the depth of the storm snow on a northeast aspect, failed between 1130 and 4pm.
Just before sunset, I was able to observe numerous avalanches along Slate River Corridor from Happy Chutes to Climax chutes – visibility was poor but D1 to D2.5 on northeast and east aspects. I also was able to see a D2-ish debris pile on Gibson Ridge that ran just short of the defensive berms above the county builiding on northeast aspect. (photos of avalanches were too poor to make out any details out or code accurately)
Weather: S2 – S5 snowfall between 1130 and 4pm out Washington Gulch. Winds were generally light at the valley bottom with some moderate gusts.
Snowpack: Around 330pm, at 10,000 feet, I measure 30 inches of new snow with 3 inches of snow water equivalent. I snowmobiled and booted on several steep, southerly terrain features without signs of instability or cracking. One quiet collapse while walking through a cold-sink willowy area released a small avalanche that failed somewhere in the middle of the storm snow on a northeast aspect.

Photos:

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Gothic 7am weather report

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/24/2021
Name: Billy Barr

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic townsite

Observed avalanche activity: No
Weather: Thursday had light snowfall but very dense in the morning, picking up in the afternoon with 5″ new snow and 0.64″ water by sunset. After dark it became heavy and stayed that way overnight with thankfully only minimal wind with an additional 17½” of snow and 1.60″ of water. This gave a 24 hour total of 22½” and a whopping 2.24″ of water- this time period was 10% water content, remembering that long term December average is 6.35%. The high-temperature yesterday was 33ºF and that came towards midnight. The overnight low was 29F and that is the current with no wind at this time and moderate snowfall. The snowpack sits at winter’s deepest of 38″.

No visibility but i could hear some slides running while i was out, though off the face of Gothic this is common. –I shall enjoy the morning cup of tea and an orange. billy

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Storm totals around sunset

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/23/2021
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Southeast Mountains

Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches:
Weather: At 330 pm, I measured 5″ new snow just up valley from the Gothic townsite. In the town of Crested Butte at 6 pm, there was 6″ with .45″ snow water equivalent.
Snowpack:

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Southerly terrain observtions up high and down low

CBACCBAC Observations

Date of Observation: 12/22/2021
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Snowmo to Poverty Gulch and skin up southernly terrain of Mineral Point/Augusta.

Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches: nothing new observed
Weather: Clear skies in the morning gave way to thin, high clouds in the afternoon. Temperatures and radiation were just strong enough to moisten surfaces on southerly aspects. Winds were generally light with a few periods with moderate gusts from the southwest.
Snowpack: I traveled on southerly facing terrain from 9600 to 12500 feet. I commonly found dry, faceted snow surfaces on slopes less than 20 degrees and thin (.5-2cm) melt/freeze crusts on steep southerlies near and above treeline. As you moved towards southeast and southwest aspects crusts became wafer-thin, or non-existent at the surface. Small facets (generally .5mm, but up to 1mm) were present below the surface crusts and occasionally above the crust (radiation recrystallization). Additionally, there is a layer of facets roughly 1 foot below the surface on southerly slopes (see profile). Below treeline crusts on steep slopes facing due south increased to around 4cm thick, but not fully supportive to skis (ugly breaker crust skiing).

Photos:

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