Date of Observation: 03/16/2023
Name: West Elk Air
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Anthracite Range
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A large natural avalanche that appeared to break 2-3’ deep below last weekend’s storm snow (3/10 interface)
Date of Observation: 03/16/2023
Name: billy barr
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic
Weather: Steady generally light snow during Wednesday picking up after dark with the heaviest coming the couple hours around midnight before stopping soon after. Total 24 hour snow was 11″ with water content of 1.03″- again very dense and wet snowfall. Snowpack sits at 87″ deep, the deepest this winter. Currently mostly cloudy with a light SW wind. Yesterday’s high was 37 and today’s low, and the current, is 20F.
This snowpack is dense and deep and it makes me worry about spring slides as not much big has run this winter so there is a lot of snow up there.
Date of Observation: 03/15/2023
Name: Evan Ross
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Mostly traveled between 10,200ft and 11,200ft on a variety of aspects in Washington Gulch.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: If a D1 had a baby, I found it. Triggered two very small storm slabs on east-facing slopes where slope angles were over 40 degrees. These slabs failed just above yesterday’s crust. several other similar test slopes didn’t produce results.
Pushed a few thick sluffs down steep slopes, but they never ran far and mostly just accordioned in the top 2 to 3 inches of moist now.
Weather: Between noon and 4pm, obscured sky with mostly S-1 to S1 snowfall. Calm winds.
Snowpack: HST was 4 to 5″. I didn’t observe an increase in the HST while out, though some water was accumulating. Calm winds and no active wind-loading were observed, though I did find a couple of drifts up to 30cm thick that must have formed during stronger winds this morning or last night. At higher elevations, there was a density change in the storm snow, with lower-density snow at the bottom of the developing storm slab. However, those slabs were just not thick enough yet to produce results. The cleanest sheers I observed were on SE and E-facing slopes with the developing storm snow producing clear shears just above yesterday’s crusts.
Pushed a few thick sluffs down steep slopes, but they never ran far and mostly just accordioned in the top 2 to 3 inches of moist now.
Photos:
Date of Observation: 03/15/2023
Name: billy barr
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic townsite
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Lots of loose slide activity off steep slopes yesterday but overall surface snow is solid.
Weather: Obscured cloud cover with scattered light snow overnight and just 1″ new but yet again dense with 0.11″ of water. The snowpack is 77½” deep and very hard. Currently light snow and no wind. On the lighter side, my water line froze in November so i have had no running water all winter, but for joy, now my roof is leaking so i have running water- down the side of my walls. Whoopee.
Date of Observation: 03/14/2023
Name: Zach Guy
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Viewed from Schuylkill Ridge and Purple Palace.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Documenting additional storm slab activity from the last cycle on the Slate, most of which ran 3/11.
Date of Observation: 03/14/2023
Name: Zach Guy
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Took a lap on Schuylkill Ridge and Purple Palace, traveling mostly on east and northeast aspects N/BTL.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A handful of small wet loose and two small storm slabs that either ran today or yesterday during the warm sunny weather. The storm slabs were about a foot thick on Peeler Peek, on east and northeast aspects, triggered by sluffs.
Like elsewhere, the Slate saw a significant storm slab cycle during the last storm, with lots of evidence of moving snow, partially filled in crowns and debris. The most notable slides were two off of the Great Wide Open that reached valley floor, one off of the west side of Baldy that crossed the slate, and all of the W/SW gullies off of Gothic produced large slides.
Weather: Partly cloudy skies, mild temps, light winds.
Snowpack: No signs of instability underfoot apart from some minor rollerballs. Stability tests on E and NE aspects produced non-propagating results on the storm interface down about 60 cm. On a SE aspect near treeline, we got repeatable propagating results (ECTP19, ECTP21) on a faceted crust down 80 cm, which was the 2nd crust from the top of the snowpack.
Snow surfaces got wet on all but the northern quadrant. Surface crusts transition from very soft and thin on northeast, to much thicker due south. I found dry, recrystallized grains developing above the crust on NE, E, and SE aspects. These were cooked off on due south. On north aspects, the snow surface was a mix of decomposing/fragmented grains and graupel. There was some surface hoar growth below 10,000′ feet this morning, but that appeared to be cooked or evolving into the near-surface facets above the crust.
Date of Observation: 03/14/2023
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: I was in a group of 3 today and we skied the North Face of Blob in the Yule Creek drainage.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: We reached the summit of The Blob with no signs of instability. The first 2 skiers skied the line with no issues. I was the 3rd skier and skied skiers left of the first two tracks. The line has multiple rolls and the line I skied had a large roll in the middle of it. Once I made a few turns down that roll, the slope began to fracture around me. I tried to ski out of it on the right side but the debris took my skies out from under me. I was in the debris for roughly 100 to 300 feet but managed to stay on top the entire time. I eventually came to a stop about halfway down the bed surface and a few hundred feet above where the slide stopped. Both of my skis came out during the slide but I was able to locate both of them and ski back down to my partners who were out of the way of the slide. No injuries occurred and I was able to ski out to the car with all of my gear.
Date of Observation: 03/13/2023
Name: Text Message
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Snodgrass
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Photo submitted via text to CBAC. Storm slab appears to be unintentionally triggered by a skier or rider. Some snow in the tracks so likely triggered on Saturday or Sunday.
Photos:
Date of Observation: 03/13/2023
Name: Zach Guy
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Various locations as viewed from town and Brush Creek.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Documenting a few more storm slabs that likely ran early Saturday, and a small glide release that ran today.
Date of Observation: 03/13/2023
Name: Irwin Guides
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Irwin Tenure
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A few point releases on Robinson E wall, and SW aspects in the New World. All below rock bands. The Southeast Face of Afley ran wall to wall during the storm.
Snowpack: No signs of instability today, yesterdays storm slabs have settled and become unreactive. Snow surfaces did get moist on all aspects and elevations in our tenure. Roller balls were starting on E-S aspects after 1230. No signs of instability after AE tests on S aspects or any other of our terrain traveled
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