Name: John lewis
Title: Small sluff slide on death pass
Location: Brush Creek Area
Date of Observation: 01/07/2015
Aspect: South East, South
Elevation: 9300

Avalanches: Small sluff slide maybe 5 foot wide and 30 feet long. Slide down to the ground.

Weather: Blue skies

Snowpack: Soft snow, warming snow, surface hoar on some areas

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Title: Snodgrass Snow Study Plot
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/07/2015
Aspect: North East
Elevation:

Avalanches:

Weather:

Snowpack: Multiple whumps on tour out, all when ski pen was 10-15 cm on leeward rolls often near buried vegetation. Ski pen up to 45 cm n many places on open/fetch slopes.

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Snodgrassplot20150107

DATE: 01/07/2015

LOCATION: Wolverine Basin

ELEVATION: 9000′ – 10,200′

ASPECT: N-E

WEATHER: Clear skies and hot in the sun. Temps below freezing in the shade. Calm to light winds.

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: Thin crusts on SE-W aspects in the valley bottom. Surface hoar was also noted in the valley bottom. While ascending the gunsight road HS remained consistent around 110cm. Outside of the skintrack no instabilities were noted, and boot pen was essentially to the ground. Hand pits consistently showed an extremely weak snowpack with no layer greater than fist hardness. One human triggered slab avalanche occurred on a NE aspect at ~10,200′. The run was a short path (~300′) between two switchbacks on the Gunsight road visible when you enter Wolverine Basin. Near the start zone HS was approximately 75cm with consistently weak snow to the ground. As I continued down the slope I felt the snow become increasingly more supportive and near the bottom felt a collapse. The slab was triggered from approximately 250ft below the crown, and the crown depth was ~75cm. The crown was approximately 150ft wide and I would classify the slide a R2-D1. Skier 1 was on the road above the path when the avalanche occurred, and skier 2 was clear of the runout by the time the avalanche accelerated.

GUIDE(S): Jeff

DATE: 2015/01/05

ACTIVITY: Ski tour

LOCATION: Commando Trees

ELEVATION: 9600′ – 10,400

ASPECT: NW-N-NE

WEATHER: Variable/Overcast, flat light, dry most of the day, Strong to Extreme, mostly N channeled down valley

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: sled parking (valley floor along stream) got avalanched by a D1 windslab 30cm thick that formed while we were touring! Fairly recent slab D1.5 under the cliff band of Schuykill peak above pittsburgh rollers. Schuykill looks stripped in many places & very thin, highly variable. No other signs of instability on surrounding alpine peaks

In Old Growth timber: consistent & stable pack of ~120-135cm of well bonded snow.
Bonding Tests:
Location: NW, large living room sized opening in forest @ 10,400. Lots of tree bombs evident in the pit. 25 degree slope, ski pen 10-15cm. boot pen 30cm. Progressive hardness downwards except a 1 hardness change @ 70cm down on rounds/rounding facets interface

DTH on ground (moist, dense (4F) cohesive facets, sticking to leaves, non repeatable)
DTN
CTH @ 70cm down on rounded slab (1F) & rounding facets interface (4F), Q2 (RP)
CTN
ETCX

Skied slpoes up to 50 degrees with no instabilities

Name: Gary Dotzler
Title: Wet slide
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/07/2015
Aspect: South
Elevation: 11,500-10,000

Avalanches: This’s so a wet slide that probably came down 1/6/15 in the copper creek drainage. Might have been a bit scary watching this come down as we are standing on the trail. Hot today, 40f, and yesterday when it probably slid it was a record high at 42f. Cliff side looked like spring instead of dead winter, with numerous wet slide evidence.

Weather: Clear, 40f

Snowpack: Clumpy snow, occasional collaspe

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Name: Gary Dotzler
Title: Deer triggered avalanche
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/07/2015
Aspect: North
Elevation: 10000

Avalanches: Found this small slide about a mile from Gothic townsite on copper creek. North facing about 30 ft across. Only ran 30 ft to the creek. What is interesting about it is it was most likely triggered by a couple mule deer (we found some scat to confirm).

Weather: Clear, 40F

Snowpack:

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Name: Zach Guy
Title: Irwin Tenure
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 01/07/2015
Aspect: West
Elevation: 11,400 ft

Avalanches:

Weather: High of 42F at 10,000 ft. Few clouds, calm winds.

Snowpack: Snow profile dug in an undisturbed area, west facing slope near treeline showed a rounding snowpack, with a mix of propagating and non-propagating results in the facet layer below the Nov 22 crust in PST and ECTs. Dec 13th facet layer showing significant improvements, not reactive in any stability tests. Surface was a mix of wind crusts and melt freeze crusts.

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20150107-UWW-Sunset-Glade

Name: Matt Zia
Title: Snodgrass pits
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 01/07/2015
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 9600

Avalanches: Observed natural avalanche activity across the valley on the S Face of Avery Peak (~10,000 feet and maybe 40º slope?) as well as on W facing slopes further south (approximately same elevation and angle as Avery) . Too far to really see, but appeared to be loose wet snow, no noticeable crown or slab fracturing.

Weather: Clear skies, no wind, ~40ºF in the sun, 30ºF in shade

Snowpack: Approximately 20º slope, NE facing at 9600 feet. Small meadow just off the Snodgrass road and above a large rollover.

0-5cm: Surface hoar, approx. 2.5mm grain size, F hardness, some rollerballs from digging a pit
5-50cm: consolidated slab, 4F-1F hardness
50-55cm: December 13th weak layer, 1-2mm facets
55-90cm: 1F hardness
90-95cm (ground): F hardness, facets and depth hoar

Conducted two compression tests, both failed at December 13th layer. First: CT22-SC-Q1. Second: CT21-SC-Q1. Top 10cm of snow easily disintegrated under shovel blade.

Crossed paths with another party who dug a pit higher up on a steeper slope of 35º. They found a similar snowpack in terms of depth, but compression test yielded a result of CT7. Additionally, on the steeper terrain, the top 10cm which disintegrated on a 20º slope instead slide as its own slab before the thicker slab reacted on the December 13th interface.

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