Name: Avalanche level 1 class
Location: Wolverine Glade
Elevation: 9,000-10,700
Aspect: NE

Weather: Mostly cloudy with some flurries (S-1) through the day. Light to moderate WNW winds were strong enough to drift the new snow. Cold temps.

Snowpack: 2″ of new snow and still not a slab problem to be found at these elevations. The snowpack is completely rotten and in poor shape. Small loose snow avalanches were the only problem on high 30 degree terrain.

Name: Zach Guy
Title: Schuykill Ridge
Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/14/2014
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: NTL/BTL 11,400 to 9,200 ft.

Avalanches: Several human triggered and one natural loose avalanche that gouged into old snow and ran up to 1,200 vertical feet. Debris piles 3-5′ deep. (L-AS/N-R1-D1/1.5-O). Also skier triggered several soft slabs below ridgelines that failed on the Dec 13th NSF, and ran far, gouging into older snow. Most of these were 30-40 feet wide, but one was almost 200 feet wide, and ran about 1,000 vertical. (SS-ASc-R1-D1/1.5-I)

Weather: Moderate W/NW winds with strong gusts. Periods of moderate snow transport. Mostly cloudy with intermittent flurries (S-1) through the day. Cold temps.

Snowpack: Toured in the Western part of Schuykill Ridge, near Pittsburg. 2″ of storm snow evenly distributed across the terrain, over the Dec 13th near surface facet layer. Not enough for slab formation, except for below ridgelines and a few wind affected features, where winds had drifted the new snow into 3-6″ of a more cohesive slab. Anywhere that a slab had formed, it was very touchy underfoot.

Uploads:

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.

Observer: Ross (Irwin Guides)
Date: 12/10/14
Location: Redwell Basin
Elevation: 12400-8900
Aspect: N
Weather: Sunny mid 30’s no precip or wind, strong solar

Snowpack/Avalanche Obs: From Kebler trail head the snow pack is thin and variable. On the south and south west aspects there is a sun crust that is somewhat supportable. Snow depths range from 10 to 20cm. Still powdery in the shaded areas. As you gain in elevation the snow depth increases with moist surface snow on sunny south facing aspects. At higher elevations 11500 wind scouring has reduced snow amounts to 10cm. Pockets of drifted snow exists in sheltered areas.

Redwell basin at 12300 has a week faceted snowpack especially around the rock bands. A slight wind crust exists at higher elevations and decreases as you drop in elevation. Snow depths range from 30cm to 50cm. No instabilities seen. At lower elevations the snow pack is week and shallow and through the waterfall section of redwell stumps and rocks are covered by 20cm of week faceted snow. At the bottom of redwell……its damm scary!!

Name: MR
Title: Coon Basin and Climax Chutes
Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/10/2014
Aspect: North, North East
Elevation: 9,000 to 12,000

Snowpack: Skied a northeastern aspect of Coon, 15cm on a supportive crust. Top of climax northeast aspect found unconsolidated facets to the ground. Significant sluffing which ran with noteworthy energy the length of the upper chute until it chokes out in aspens. Dipping off the ridge and onto a more easterly aspect at maybe 10,500 the snowpack felt like more of a cohesive slab so we returned to skiing the shallow ridge. Lower down and back onto the northeastern aspect we again skied facets to the ground.