Name: Zach Guy
Title: Peeler Basin and Oh-Be-Joyful Basin
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 12/13/2014
Aspect: North, North East, South
Elevation: 9,700′ to 12,200′

Avalanches: Shallow facet sluffing on anything northerly facing. Nothing impressive, except for the one guy in our group who crashed in front of his sluff and got pummeled.

Weather: Clear skies all morning. Clouds began developing around 2 p.m. Warm temps, moderate SW winds. No precip.

Snowpack: More of the same. South aspects near treeline had wet grains (facets and meltforms) to the ground, HS around 30-40cm. North and northeast facing slopes above treeline held a continuous layer of ~3″ of near surface facets (fist hardness), sitting over a variable distribution of old, stiff snow or weak, unsupportive snow. Descending in elevation, the snowpack transitioned to mostly all facets and unsupportive on skis. See video

Name: Level 1 Avalanche Class
Date of Observation: 12/13/2014
Aspect: North East, East, Southwest
Elevation: BTL

Weather: Few clouds midday becoming overcast in the afternoon. Calm winds and warm temps. Gusty winds and and S-1 grapple started around sunset.

Snowpack: We were hunting slabs in the area and the slabs where all faceted out. One group did find a 4f-1f midpack on an isolated wind roll. Otherwise on NE/E aspects the HS was about 40cm on average and all facets. In the bottom 2/3 of the snowpack the 1-4mm facets have gained some strength and are 4f- in hardness. SW aspects consisted of a thick crust over F hard facets. On all aspects toured SH was living large unless it was on steep enough southern aspects to be melted by the sun.

Name: TNA
Title: confectionery
Date of Observation: 12/13/2014
Aspect: North, North East
Elevation: BTL

Avalanches: None seen

Weather: Warm, sunny, no wind

Snowpack: Skied 800 vertical feet of factus awesomnus in 2.5 bowl Snodgrass. You ain’t livin’ until you’re skiing facets. Although, about midway down there was some sort of 4 inch thick supportable layer out in the open shots about four inches down in the pack. Windboard?

Name: Zach Guy
Title: Mt. Owen
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 12/12/2014
Aspect: North, North East, East
Elevation: 11,000 – 13,000 ft

Snowpack: For ATL slopes over a week out since last snow, the snow surface is remarkably unscathed by wind. The Dec 1 snowfall has metamorphosed to rippled near surface facets (~3″ thick), over older, stiff windboard. Isolated gulley features have a thin windcrust over the NSF. Breakable MF crust as the aspect changes to ESE. No signs of instability on slopes up to 45 degrees, except for shallow facet sluffing, enough to require heads-up sluff management. Can’t recall the last time I saw such a widespread PWL so well preserved on the surface at all elevation bands here in CB.

Name: Irwin Guides (CBMG)
Location: Red Lady Glades
Elevation: 9200-1200
Aspect: SW
Weather: Sunny blue bird, no wind or precip

Snowpack/Avalanche Obs: Snow at lower elevations is a mixed bag of melt freeze sun crust and powdery snow ranging in depth from 10-20cm. One collapse was observed at 12000 at the goal posts. No instabilities seen. The glades have a sun crust on W and south facing slopes that moistened throughout the day. Shaded areas have powdery snow. Variable depth of snow averaging at about 30cm at mid to upper elevations. Surface hoar in shaded areas. Thin pack towards the bottom.

Name: Dustin Eldridge
Title: Schuylkill Ridge 12-11-14
Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/11/2014
Aspect: North, North East, East
Elevation: 9000-11300

Avalanches: None observed.

Weather: Warm and calm. Light high elevation clouds. Snow surface was moistened on southerly aspects.

Snowpack: Low elevations held almost entirely faceted snow on shaded slopes with slightly more consolidated pack on NE faces. Crust softened by the midday sun was evident on S-facing slopes up high. Facets abounded under the crust, snow height around 40-50 cm. Pit dug on N-aspect , 37 degrees, 11,300 ft, showed 75 cm of snow with Fist-hardness (2-3 mm faceted crystals) down to 50-60 cm. From there the pack was slightly stiffer (4f, 1mm wind compacted)) down to about 5 cm (2-3 mm facets) where a depth hoar layer was evident. Extended column test showed ECTP 18, Q2.5 on the ground.