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

Photos:

Date of Observation: 03/13/2023
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: West Brush Creek. Traveled mostly on east and northeast aspects to 11,600′

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Observed a large storm slab (D2.5) run this afternoon off the south face of Teo. The slab initiated as a relatively small pocket on a southeast aspect and then triggered a much broader, thicker crown on a cross-loaded terrain feature facing south that subsequently ran to valley floor.
Several very small dry loose and wet loose avalanches ran throughout the day.
West Brush Creek drainage saw a fairly widespread storm slab cycle, D1-D2, likely Friday night-Saturday morning. Pics show the largest slides, though there were plenty more. In three of the S/SW gullies of Teo, storm slabs stepped down and triggered more destructive persistent slabs, D2.5-D3. The crowns were mostly filled in but I measured debris blocks as thick as 4 feet, pencil hard.
Weather: Few to scattered skies through mid-afternoon. Mild temps. Calm winds.
Snowpack: I didn’t measure storm snow totals, but they seemed on par with other areas, in the 2-foot range. Snow surfaces became moist to wet on everything without a northerly tilt, producing a few rollerballs and minor sluffs. We skied on several steep, shady slopes with no signs of instability. However, we did get a creek bed to calve off about 3-feet deep on a facet layer at valley bottom.

Date of Observation: 03/13/2023

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Axtell 1st bowl

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Remote triggered D1.5 storm slab from 5m away on east-facing flank of 1st bowl near old prayer flags. Collapse was loud. Crown estimated to be 70cm x 20m. Appeared to fail at storm interface.
Several old crowns in 1st and 2nd bowl that looked to have released mid-storm.
Ski cut triggered D1 in a north-facing chute of 1st bowl. The second rider was able to trigger additional hang fire with a second ski cut. Crown was estimated to be 40cm x 10m. This path appeared to have failed mid-storm then again with our ski cuts presumably at the storm interface.

Date of Observation: 03/13/2023
Name: Travis Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic road between gothic town site and SAIL site

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Heard/saw about 8 avalanches running down the chutes on gothic east face. First avalanche seen was at 11:07 (circled in red). Subsequent avalanches seen/heard for the next 2 hours (circled in green)
Weather: Sunny, calm, -3.2C (at 11:10am)

Date of Observation: 03/13/2023
Name: Rob Strickland

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Standard skinner. A few inches of new provide a bit of float above the crusts

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: – East side of the bowl (west facing) wet slab.
– Inde basin (photo). All east facing ripped and looked like a shallow slab but impressive R3/4.
– But no movement on east facing Elk Creek shots.
Some examples of cornice fall to D1 and filled in again.
Weather: Partly light… partly cloudy.
Snowpack: Deeep. Where’d all those little trees go?

Date of Observation: 03/13/2023
Name: billy barr

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic Townsite

Observed avalanche activity: No
Weather: Light snow Sunday, then a short wave after dark before scattered showers overnight with 6″ new and water a more reasonable 0.44″. Currently cloudy with a few small patches of what passes for blue (take what you can get) and calm (have to love that one). Current snowpack is winter deepest at 83½”
Snowpack:

Date of Observation: 03/12/2023
Name: Irwin Guides

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Irwin Tenure

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Several non-destructive D1 storm slabs on W NTL. 50-100′ wide propagation.
Weather: OVC, 27/17 deg, W 10-20 g 30, convective snow showers off and on S1.
Snowpack: Snow became low-density by the end of the storm. Afternoon 2d SWE 6%. W aspects NTL touchy-very touchy nondestructive storm slabs 6-10″ this morning. DL on W & E aspects on terrain >37 deg, mostly surface graupel from today’s snow.