Avalanches:
Weather: Moderate snow turning light again with a light density. The 24 hour total is 7″ new snow and 0.35″ water with 45″ on the ground. Light SW wind with obscured cloud cover as temp. has not moved much at all ranging between 15 and 18F overnight.
Snowpack:
Date: 01/02/2017
Today’s weather will be very similar to yesterday with light snow showers and blustery southwest winds. The air circulating around the globe is being squeezed between a deep low-pressure system over the northwestern US and a shallow trough over Texas. This tight pressure gradient is bringing elevated winds and pulling in enough moisture to continue light snow showers. The WRF model gets excited with enhanced orographic snow for our western forecast area tonight, as Crested Butte looks to continue seeing similar snow showers as yesterday and tonight. Snow showers will taper briefly on Tuesday around mid-day before the main event gets going early Wednesday morning. Increased moisture is pulled into the area and lasts through the day as we see snow intensities ramp up and produce the best 12hr snow totals for the week. Colorado will remain under this unsettled westerly flow through the week with a brief break in the weather looking to happen around Friday.
High Temperature: 20
Wind Speed: 15 to 25
Wind Direction: SW
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 1-4
Low Temperature: 12
Wind Speed: 15 to 25
Wind Direction: SW
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 6-8W 3-5E
High Temperature: 20
Wind Speed: 15 to 25
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 1-4
Avalanches: NA
Weather: S-1 transitioning to obscured skies. Calm
Snowpack:
Avalanches: No signs of instability. No recent activity.
Weather: S-1 to S1 throughout the day. Overcast skies. Light winds with minimal transport.
Snowpack: ~2″ of new, low-density snow.
On NE and E aspects near treeline, the storm interface is smooth windboard, and the new snow was not bonding well to this surface. Lots of shallow, harmless sluffing. Dug one pit on a wind loaded NE aspect. About 120cm of 1F+ slab over 4F+ 1.5mm rounding facets. No results in ECTs or with additional loading steps on deep tap ECTs. The surface (below the new snow) was 1cm, 1F wind crust over small grained facets. The starting zones that we traveled near had variable snow depths due to previous avalanches and wind affects.
Below treeline, the storm interface is fist hard near surface facets, ~1mm, and several hand pits showed multiple facet layers in the upper 25 cm of the snowpack; not problematic until a slab arrives. Snow depth was generally about 70 to 90 cm deep, with a few shallower and faceted/unsupportive areas on steep rollovers.
Avalanches: Observed several fresh windslabs from wind earlier this week on E-SE facing slopes, one D2, but far away and hard to photograph.
Weather: Clear, Sunny, Calm. Intense solar. temps ranged between 0-15ºF
Snowpack: Still a relatively deep snowpack out cement creek. Near and above treeline areas definitely still hold concerning structure and producing concerning long column results. ECTP18 SC at basal facets in 85cm pit at 11,800ft, at alpine transition was concerning. PST80/100arr 20161127. Key word is variable! some places scoured to ground, others 250cm+.
Xmas surface hoar distribution is spotty, but present. Found in meadows BTL, 15cm deep from surface. 2-3mm SH. shovel tilt produced clean shears but slab not stiff enough where I tested to see propagating ECT results.
Slide20Date: 01/01/2017
This morning we have one low-pressure eating fish tacos down on the Baja/California border while another low pressure is eating fish sandwiches up in the northwest. These two systems are going to squeeze the pressure gradient between them with strong winds aloft and a turbulent atmosphere. Atmospheric lift and some moisture will bring us light snow showers today through tonight. Heading into Tuesday and Wednesday winds look be very strong with lots of turbulences in the atmosphere as the pressure gradients tighten and a trough forms over Colorado. So we’ll have that unsettled, turbulent atmosphere, and we just need to add moisture to see those snowfall numbers start adding up. The best chance of increased moisture arriving looks to be around Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday.
High Temperature: 24
Wind Speed: 5 to 15 G25
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 1 to 3
Low Temperature: 12
Wind Speed: 10 to 20
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 2 to 4
High Temperature: 20
Wind Speed: 20 to 30
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 1 to 3
Avalanches:
Weather: Few clouds , no new precip, calm to light winds from the W, felt warm to day with a temp of -5C @ 10,0125’ @ 14:45
Snowpack: Overall improving below TL, noticed some rounding in the basel facets with a supportive mid-layer. Warm today, sun crusts developing on just about all S aspects below TL and some wind affected snow in open terrain below and near TL.
Avalanches:
Weather: Mostly sunny with sun warming snow surfaces on southerly facing slopes. Calm winds.
Snowpack: Quick test pit BTL on an ENE aspect showed more of the same with the basal facets 1.5/2mm in this area and rounding. CT result was moderate and sudden on the NSF interface 25cm down under a F to 4F- slab. No time for an ECT but ski tracks on suspect slopes showed this interface to be a non-issue currently. No signs to instability on suspect terrain other then some sluffing in steep terrain as the snow surface continues to weaken with the recent cold weather.
Avalanches: Observed 12/30
There were tracks to the left of it, but seemed like cornice fall trigger. Not a massive crown, almost like a point release that stepped down and ran on xmas layer, R3D1.5
Weather:
Snowpack:
