Date of Observation: 01/03/2023
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Cement Creek TH along roadway to mid-Cement area toured near ‘Grassy Hill’ and Hunter Creek on westerly aspects.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: I observed a few recent small avalanches in lower Cement Creek near the Summer Home group parking area on north and east slopes. While snowmobiling up Reno Road, we came across a natural avalanche that piled debris on the Road from a west-facing slope. We remotely triggered a pair of avalanches open west-facing terrain that broke in very weak snow near the ground (this terrain likely sat very shallow from west winds earlier this winter). Sometimes we needed to hop or stab a ski through the slab to get a collapse…certainly not hard, but not effortless. We may have remotely triggered a small slope while snowmobiling at valley bottom on our way in and noticed it on the way out.
Weather: Overcast skis with mostly light snow with a few periods of moderate intensity around midday. Winds remained light, with a few exposed areas showing signs of recent wind effect.
Snowpack: We mainly traveled on westerly aspects below treeline with depths ranging from 90 to 120cm depending on wind erosion earlier this winter. We experienced two large booming collapses and several moderate-sized collapses. I suspect many of the meadows we crossed previously collapsed during high-intensity snowfall on Sunday. The south half of the compass below treeline in this area has developed enough slab over the past week to overload weak facets and crust/facet combinations at the bottom of the snowpack. Collapsing, snowpack tests (see below), and remotely triggered avalanches all point to easy human triggering of avalanches below treeline.

Date of Observation: 01/03/2023
Name: Whitney Gilliam

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: We were traveling on the lookers left side of the typical Snodgrass skinner (below tree line, elevation ~10,400ft) and triggered the slope opposite us that was about 300m away. The avalanche went on a convex roll on an E/NE facing slope. It appeared to go to the ground (hence all the grass in the photo). Prior to seeing this beautiful avalanche from a distance, we had a large collapse and wumph where we were in the trees (SE facing slope BTL).

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: ~D2 size avalanche on a E/NE facing slope. Remote triggered.
Weather: Winds – Light, predominantly from the south
Light to moderate snowfall (AW YEAHHH keep it comin!)
Overcast
Snowpack: Pit dug on an E aspect BTL (~10,800ft elevation, in the aspens near California bowl on Snodgrass) slope angle was about 10degrees.
Results:
All failed on the same mid-December PWL
CTM Q1
ECTP 19
PSTend 35/100

Date of Observation: 01/03/2023

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Flat, up and then down on NE aspect below treeline on the border of the NW and SE forecast zones.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Pockets the Clown had a couple of tricks up his sleeve, actually in his pant leg, as he shook some treats out of his pockets on a steeper roll at the bottom when skied.
Weather: calm in the trees, windy transporting snow on the ridge to add a little nice nice for the shred.
Snowpack: Ummm… good for skiing 30-degree slopes and shallower. 14″ of goodness on top of denser snow.

Date of Observation: 01/03/2023
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Broken sled retrieval mission out Washington Gulch to Elkton

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Ski triggered a pair of small slabs in the new snow on a drifted rollover, about 12” thick. Vis was too poor to see much avalanche terrain.
Weather: Snowing heavily through most of the day. Elkton had about 14” of fluffy snow by midday. Coneys area had about 8” to 10”. Light to moderate winds near treeline with periods of significant blowing snow.
Snowpack: Stability test below treeline near the boundary of our two forecast zones produced hard, propagating results in depth hoar (F) under a 120 cm soft slab.

Date of Observation: 01/03/2023

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: South side of Mt. Crested Butte

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Buckhorn couloir. Looked like it originated in the trees and came down. Hard to say if p slab or storm snow.

Date of Observation: 01/03/2023
Name: billy barr

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Widespread slide activity in this area though except for very steep areas on Gothic most slides were from the new snow and did not carry far, and all small except one moderate one off Gothic. This new snow overnight should not affect much as it is light and not all that much of it.
Weather: Only very light scattered snow Monday until after dark, then it picked up towards sunrise with 4½” new and water a light 0.26″ with little wind and even a bit of clearing Monday afternoon. Currently 48″ on the ground- winters deepest with light to moderate snow and no wind and no visibility.

Photos:

Date of Observation: 01/02/2023
Name: Zach Kinler

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Dog walk through town.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A good number of large natural avalanches on South and West aspects from the recent cycle. Hard to tell exactly where in the snowpack they broke but several were widely propagating with crowns several feet deep suggesting they broke on weak layers within the snowpack. Some crowns looked quite fresh likely breaking within the last 24 hours while others likely broke earlier in the cycle.
Weather: Partly cloudy skies, light westerly winds, cool temps.
Snowpack:

Date of Observation: 01/02/2023
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Viewed from Washington Gulch road

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A few more persistent slabs that ran over the weekend, up to D2.5. See photos and details below.

Date of Observation: 01/02/2023
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Traveled on various aspects off of Elkton Knob, most commonly on west and southwest below treeline.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: The Elkton area saw a decent D2 cycle over the weekend on many steep slopes, various aspects. Soft slabs were generally 2 to 3 feet thick, failing on mid-December facets. In contrast, the Purple Palace area appeared to be relatively quiet during the cycle, perhaps because of Arctic Blast wind effects on the weak layer there. I stomped around on top of a couple of small, steep slopes and triggered one persistent slab that was 3 feet thick (4F) over fist hard 1mm facets on a west facing slope. There was also evidence of avalanche activity earlier in the storm on Baldy, Purple Ridge, and Schuylkill Ridge. Light was too flat to see much else.
Weather: Light snow showers on and off through the day, with bouts of sunshine too. Light to moderate ridgetop winds with blowing snow off of Mt. Baldy.
Snowpack: Fairly quiet while breaking trail and skinning. We got one collapse and chatted with another group in the same area that got several large collapses and shooting cracks. Slabs are consolidating and ski pen is now ankle deep, making for good turns on the low angle.

Date of Observation: 01/02/2023
Name: Evan Ross

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Kebler Pass area. All aspects. Up to 10,700ft.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Several very small storm slabs. 1 to 2″ thick. Some releasing naturally and some human triggered, only on the steepest slopes near or above 40 degrees.

Weather: Overcast, calm wind. heavy snowfall started around 11am and lasted for about 1 or 1.5 hours. The sun started poking through a few times around mid-day or early afternoon on the way home.

Snowpack: Plenty of test slopes around 35 degrees on all aspects and some much steeper. Most slopes were 100ft vertical or less. Some were a couple of hundred vertical feet. The PSa problem presented no obvious signs of instability as has been the case recently in similar terrain. No shooting cracks or collapses. Otherwise, any slab displacement downhill in these areas may often be held up in the compression of the slopes, given how thick the slab has become.

Got some ok views of the Dyke, steep stuff below Floresta, Axtel 1/2 bowl and 1st bowl, and the track of 2nd bowl. Of course the Kebler corridor too. Noting stood out through the little windows that presented.