Location: Crested Butte Area Date of Observation: 01/10/2019 Name: CBPSP
Subject: Fredo’s Apron Aspect: North Elevation: 11,150′
Avalanches:
CBMR 11,150′ N aspect cross loaded feature from SE winds below large cliff band. AE-SS-R1-D2-O. Propagated 175′
Weather: Increasing high clouds throughout the day high temp of 34 with calm winds.
Snowpack: HS 43 with approx. two inches of settlement today. In sheltered areas snow weak and faceted with specific ares of wind stiffened snow. Previously unaffected area from skier traffic or explosives.
Location: Paradise Divide Area Date of Observation: 01/10/2019 Name: Roscoe
Subject: No hate from the Slate Aspect: North East Elevation: 11,400
Avalanches:
There were signs of Avalanche activity on the lower slopes and rollovers , similar to what what was posted in an OB yesterday . Not much on the upper slopes .
Weather: Grey Bird Day calm and warm
Snowpack: In the zone we were in the slopes were not terribly affected by wind. Snow was dense and supportive. I did not seem this area received as much snow on the last cycle as the Kebler Pass Corridor.
Location: Crested Butte Area Date of Observation: 01/10/2019 Name: Evan Ross And Eric Murrow
Subject: Check in on Coney’s skier triggered avalanche Aspect: North East, East Elevation: 9,800 to 10,800ft
Avalanches:
SS-ASr-R1-D2-O. 1/9
Weather: Calm winds. Partly cloudy sky and warm feeling temps
Snowpack: HS in the 100-120 range on average. Ski pen around 20cm and SH on much of the snow surface. A few large collapses in the terrain but no shooting cracks.
The 1/9 remote triggered avalanche failed just below the holiday slab on 1.5mm NSF. This layer of NSF was about 5cm thick. Crown hight Varied between 1 to 4 feet thick. The thicker part of the slab was on a wind-loaded terrain feature. Slope angles on the bed surface were in the 34 to 36 range. East facing aspect at 10,360ft.
Another clear and inverted morning as valley temps are near 10F in Crested Butte and 25F at 11,000ft. Temperatures will again rebound nicely today. Clouds will begin increasing today ahead of a small storm for Thursday Night into Friday. Looks like we are kinda getting left out on this one. Hopefully we’ll pull off a couple inches in the Kebler and Paradise Divide areas, otherwise, the better snow will develop further east then Crested Butte. We’ll see another ridge developing later this weekend and bringing dry weather for that period and to start the week.
Today
High Temperature: 30 to 35 Winds/Direction: 0 to 10 W Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy Irwin Snow: 0 Elkton Snow: 0 Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
Tonight
Low Temperature: 15 to 20 Winds/Direction: 0 to 10 NW Sky Cover: Overcast Irwin Snow: 0 to 3 Elkton Snow: 0 to 3 Friend’s Hut Snow: 0 to 2
Tomorrow
High Temperature: 25 to 30 Winds/Direction: 5 to 15 NNW Sky Cover: Overcast Irwin Snow: 1 to 2 Elkton Snow: 1 to 2 Friend’s Hut Snow: 2 to 4
Location: Brush Creek Area Date of Observation: 01/09/2019 Name: Evan Ross
Subject: Fun With Avalanches Aspect: North, North East, East Elevation: 9,500-10,800
Avalanches:
Ooo boy. This is going to be long.
The highlights: One bounce, producing a collapse, that remote triggered 1 x D2, 1 x D1.5, and slumped the snow off a another rock outcrop. Two other separate collapse each remote triggered a D2 and separate D1 at the same time. The furthest point from a human triggered collapse to the furthest point of a crown, measured on google earth, was about 2,200ft. Yea baby.
2 x SS-ASr-R1-D2-O, NE, BTL 1 x SS-ASr-R1-D2-O, E, BTL 4 x SS-ASr-R1-D1.5-O, NE, BTL
There were many more natural avalanches to D2.5 in size from the 1/6 cycle. Mainly on N to E facing aspects at BTL elevations. Other aspects and elevations had a few old Persistent Slabs, but most avalanches looked to have failed within the storm snow and were often confined to gully features or wind-loaded terrain.
Weather: High clouds hung around for much of the day. Calm wind. Warm temps.
Snowpack: The holiday slab is the slab… while the January 6th storm just added the load to tip the balance. The 1/6 storm snow was about 10 to 12″ in sheltered terrain at the elevations traveled. The 1/6 snow was very soft on NE and becoming moist on E, and other sunny slopes. The very weak NSF below the holiday slab was the layer of concern. This layer was failing in collapses and triggered avalanches, and those avalanches were either running at the interface or gouging to the ground. Boot pen to hip and ski pen about 25cm. HS in the 100-120cm range.
Collapses that produced human triggered avalanches were very very quiet and subtle. No shooting cracks where ever observed from the same area I got a collapses that remote triggered and avalanche. After a collapses, it was a long 10sec before remote triggered avalanches started running.
Photos:
A collapse from where the picture was taken, slumped the snow off the rock in the foreground, released the d1.5 in the middle, and further released the D2 2,200ft away hidden in the back right of the photo.
Another remote triggered D1
Old natural avalanche from the 1/6 cycle
Fresh D1.5 today on the south side of Teo.
Destruction. BTL East. Natural avalanches from the 1/6 cycle
Destruction. BTL East. Natural avalanches from the 1/6 cycle
Remote Triggered D2
Remote trigger D2 and D1, The foreground slab fractured but did not release until the bigger slab in the background overran the lower slope in the foreground.
D2 from the 1/6 natural cycle E ATL
Better view of one of the wide propagating remote triggers.
Location: Paradise Divide Area Date of Observation: 01/09/2019 Name: Kyote
Subject: Remote on north end of Coney’s Aspect:Â East Elevation: 11,500
Avalanches:
Remote trigger on a southeast steep slope on the north end of Coney’s. Crown was up to 3-4 ft in wind loaded area. Occurred on the new snow from this week. There weren’t any signs of instability prior to seeing this avalanche.
Location: Crested Butte Area Date of Observation: 01/09/2019 Name: ADB
Subject: Snodgrass-GFP after the storm Aspect: East, South West, West Elevation: BTL
Avalanches:
Weather: Calm, few clouds, and warming temperatures above freezing. Warm in the sun.
Snowpack: 1 cm surface hoar widespread in open areas with no shading.
Disclaimer again: Very qualitative tests with hands and poles.
Off main skin track and filled in skin track, no collapsing and one shooting crack.
SW Aspect- hand test CT 13 Q3 on crust 12 inches below snow surface
W Aspect uphill of the weather station CT 4 Q3 on crust 12 inches below snow surface.
Photos:
Colorado is sitting under a high-pressure ridge as we look ahead to another day of dry and mild weather. High clouds are streaming across the area this morning and we’ll continue to see some more high clouds throughout the day. Our next change in weather comes around Thursday night as a shortwave trough moves through Colorado. Currently, we’re looking at a few inches of snow before returning to dry weather for the weekend.
Today
High Temperature: 30 to 35 Winds/Direction: 5 to 15 SW Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy Irwin Snow: 0 Elkton Snow: 0 Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
Tonight
Low Temperature: 18 to 22 Winds/Direction: 0 to 10 W Sky Cover: Mostly Clear Irwin Snow: 0 Elkton Snow: 0 Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
Tomorrow
High Temperature: 30 to 35 Winds/Direction: 0 to 10 W Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy Irwin Snow: 0 Elkton Snow: 0 Friend’s Hut Snow: 0
Location: Crested Butte Area Date of Observation: 01/08/2019 Name: Eric Murrow
Subject: Natural activity and stiffening slabs Aspect: North East, East Elevation: 9,600-10,800
Avalanches:
Peeler Peak ATL ENE R1-D1.5
Rock Creek Drainage (Treasury/Galena area) 2x ATL SSE R1 – D1.5 plus additional debris pile off NE slope with crown not visible
Slopes above Peanut lake road – NE BTL R2 – D1.5 – camera died when viewed at end of day but I think there were two
Weather: very nice day with mild temps and calm winds
Snowpack: Travelled on NE and E terrain below treeline. Storm snow was about 35 to 40cm and was 4f- hard. Most places I looked a layer of soft preserved stellars was present at bottom of storm snow. Test results on this layer in a slightly drifted spot were CT11 and ECTN11. While crossing open portion of ridge top, I was able to get a few moderate rolling collapses by jumping, and a few short running cracks but no results. These locations with collapses were drifted 2+ feet. Ski cut the margins of two drifted areas at ridge top without results. Riding conditions were supportive and surfy very different from 24 hours prior.
Photos:
Natural avalanches on southerly slopes in upper Rock Creek
