Skier triggered slabs near Kebler Pass
LOCATION: Kebler Pass Area
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/28/2015
NAME: Zach Guy
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/28/2015
NAME: Zach Guy
SUBJECT: Skier triggered slabs near Kebler Pass
ASPECT: North, North East, South
ELEVATION: 9,500 to 10,500 ft. Below Treeline
ASPECT: North, North East, South
ELEVATION: 9,500 to 10,500 ft. Below Treeline
AVALANCHES: Widespread, touchy persistent slabs on N/NE aspects BTL. Almost every rollover steeper than 35 degrees we approached today either triggered remotely or with a ski cut., about 10 slides in total. Slabs ranged from 10″ to 18″ thick, 10 to 100 feet wide, and ran up to 500 vertical feet. Failed on near surface facets. that were buried at the beginning of this late-Feb storm cycle. Most were D1, a couple D1.5’s with debris up to 5 feet. Two were remotely triggered from flat terrain. SS-AS-R1-D1/1.5-O
WEATHER: Overcast. S1 midday increased to S3 by late afternoon. Light easing to calm winds.
SNOWPACK: N/NE aspects: 12-18″ of F+ recent snow, no wind affect, over the Feb 16th facet layer (F hard), which is rotten to the ground. Very reactive interface. Widespread cracking, collapsing, and skier triggered slides.
S aspects. 4-6″ of new snow over the most recent Meltfreeze crust (Feb 24 crust), which is 2″ thick and supportive. About 2″ of mixed forms below that crust to the February 20th crust, which is knife hard to the ground. No signs of instability or sluffing on steep terrain.
UPLOADS:
Mountain Weather for Friday, February 28th, 2015
Date: 02/28/2015
Our big weather maker continues its grind toward Colorado today as it drops southward along the California coast, before ejecting our way through the Four Corners and the desert Southwest. It have wobbled a bit, but good snowfall looks to remain on track for tonight, Sunday, and Monday. Interesting model changes over the last 24 hours, are shifting a brunt of the storm farther north, with more northwesterly components, a wind direction that can hammer our forecast area. Clouds will increase, and snow develop this afternoon into tonight, but really kicks Sunday into Monday and beyond.
Today
High Temperature: 20-25
Wind Speed: 15-25
Wind Direction: SW
Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
Snow: 1-4″
Tonight
Low Temperature: 10-15
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 4-8″
Tomorrow
High Temperature: 20-25
Wind Speed: 5-15
Wind Direction: SW
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 1-4″
Whetstone
LOCATION: Crested Butte Area
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/27/2015
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/27/2015
SUBJECT: Whetstone
ASPECT: North
ELEVATION: 10 500
ASPECT: North
ELEVATION: 10 500
AVALANCHES: 4 different slides visible from basin floor. All from recent wind loading
WEATHER: Snowy with mild winds in the tress, large gusts on ridgelines and peak visible from basin floor
SNOWPACK: Solid with no instability below treeline. Once into the tongue below M-Face…experience numerous collapses but nothing broke loose,. Turned around and skied trees
UPLOADS:
Paradise Divide Area
LOCATION: Paradise Divide Area
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/27/2015
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/27/2015
SUBJECT: Get u sum pilg
ASPECT: North
ELEVATION: BTL
ASPECT: North
ELEVATION: BTL
AVALANCHES:
WEATHER: temps low 20’s, cloudy obscuring any chance at valley wide obs, snowing off and on, random squalls but no consistent winds where we were
SNOWPACK: six inches new overnight, ski pen 16 inches. some sluffing on steeper pitches but only new snow moving and pitches not long enough for sluffs to sustain or entrain so I remain to slay pow again. Crusts under new snow on anything with east tilt.
UPLOADS:
Mountain Weather for Friday, February 27th, 2015
Date: 02/27/2015
Hold onto your hats. An impressive series of storms will arrive this afternoon from the Southwest, and impact the Crested Butte area through potentially next Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. Although, we will not see the brunt of the storm (Wolf Creek may see up to 8″ liquid water), we should not feel too starved as 1-2 feet look reasonable. Clouds and snow showers will increase in coverage this afternoon, with stronger waves of moisture overnight and through the weekend. Winds should remain elevated, and temperatures look to remain at or below average through this time frame.
Today
High Temperature: 15-20
Wind Speed: 10-20 G40
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
Snow: 2-4″
Tonight
Low Temperature: 5-10
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: SW
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 3-6″
Tomorrow
High Temperature: 20-25
Wind Speed: 15-25
Wind Direction: SW
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 4-8″
Irwin Tenure Obs
LOCATION: Kebler Pass Area
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/26/2015
NAME: Irwin Tenure
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/26/2015
NAME: Irwin Tenure
SUBJECT: sdk/afla@ksa.com
ASPECT: East, South, West
ELEVATION: 10-12000
ASPECT: East, South, West
ELEVATION: 10-12000
AVALANCHES: NW winds loaded Bender (E-facing 38º) just below the ridge and we triggered a slide that was similar to the other two slides there this season. Elsewhere, wind-loading seemed insignificant and unreactive though we didn’t go through any of the chutes. We cleaned off the cornice above Candy’s (E-facing 38º) with no results. The apron below Candy’s / Bender was very grabby skiing on the breakable crust.
WEATHER: 19” in the last 7 days.
SNOWPACK: 2-5cm MFcr throughout most aspects/elevations with the exception of Upper WW where the Feb 24 crust was only 1cm. Sunset right had no MFcr. 5” low density snow skied well today, especially wests and shady. Ski quality is slowly improving on majority of terrain.
UPLOADS:
Pittsburgh Area
LOCATION: Paradise Divide Area
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/26/2015
NAME: Kelly Jensen
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/26/2015
NAME: Kelly Jensen
SUBJECT: Pittsburgh Area
ASPECT: North, North East, East
ELEVATION: 9400-10550
ASPECT: North, North East, East
ELEVATION: 9400-10550
AVALANCHES: None new observed in the area of our tour.
WEATHER: Clear skies and calm winds in the morning. Clouds (overcast) and wind (light) building from the west by mid day and flurries (s1) by 2:00pm. Temperatures in the upper teens up to mid twenties.
SNOWPACK: New snow from yesterday/ last night totaling 5cm sitting on a sun/ temperature crust from Tuesday? Crust layer more noticeable as the aspect turns more east. 30 cm from the weekend storm. Boot pen: 44cm/ Ski pen: 14cm. HS: 200cm at northeast facing pit site at 10550ft. Results as follows, CT16/ ECTP14 at weekend snow/ old snow interface 35cm down (on 1-1.5mm facets)+ PST33/100End down 35cm on 2015-02-21 all @ 32 degrees.
UPLOADS:
Mountain Weather February 26, 2015
Date: 02/26/2015
We’ll see a brief lull in active weather this morning before another extended period of snowy weather kicks carrying us into next week. The previews start this afternoon as the next shortwave moves in from the northwest, issuing the first round of snowfall favoring Kebler and Paradise Divide. Unstable air will fuel showers on Friday morning, before the main feature begins to set up for the weekend. A large trough will tap into healthy amount of moisture and drive it over our region under southwest flow, fueling significant snowfall with good dynamic support. A foot or more seems reasonable by the end of the weekend.
Today
High Temperature: 18
Wind Speed: 5-15
Wind Direction: W, NW
Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
Snow: 0-3″
Tonight
Low Temperature: 5
Wind Speed: 5-15
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
Snow: 1-4″
Tomorrow
High Temperature: 20
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Overcast
Snow: 1-4″
Coney’s Obs
LOCATION: Kebler Pass Area
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/25/2015
NAME: Evan Ross
DATE OF OBSERVATION: 02/25/2015
NAME: Evan Ross
SUBJECT: Coney’s Obs
ASPECT: North East
ELEVATION: NTL/BTL
ASPECT: North East
ELEVATION: NTL/BTL
AVALANCHES:
WEATHER: WEATHER: Mostly Cloudy with several snowfall bursts throughout the day. About 1″ new near the top of Coney’s at 2pm. Light to moderate winds where down valley at BTL elevations and westerly at ridgeline.
SNOWPACK: SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS:
Only significant result was an intentionally skier triggered windslab at the top of the bowl. Propagated 40ish feet wide with an average crown of about 4″. Ran 150 feet and was a D1. Windslab failed on lower density storm snow.
Everywhere else we traveled in the bowl we didn’t really find any form of a slab within last weekends storm snow. There were certainly areas to be avoided at all elevations where you likely could have triggered a similarly small windslab.
Dug a pit at 10,700ft. HS 140. Last weekends storm snow was 35cm on a 2cm MFcr. Below this crust was F hard facets that where progressively harder all the way to the ground where they had become 1F hard. The facets just below the MFcr was the layer of concern but needed more of a slab on top to propagate a result. CTH SC, ECTN 20 on this interface.
Shady slopes below treeline have the most concerning structure as the storm snow is sitting on F hard weak facets to the ground. Though we didn’t come across a slope where last weekends storm snow had formed a slab, yet. Unless recent winds had cross loaded the slope. Near the trailhead there had been several storm slabs that failed naturally and where all D1 in size. These storm slabs where shallow and appeared to fail within the storm snow and not on the old snow interface.
UPLOADS:
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