Avalanches: Did see 6-10 D1-1.5 dry loose avalanches off steep terrain on east, south and west terrain ATL, looking like some initiated off warming rock bands.

Evidence of many wide slides on steep east facing terrain and did observe evidence of a few west facing crowns in steep aspens that ran around xmas. Some of the crowns observed looked a little more recent…possibly wildlife triggered…

photos highlight slopes that may hang in the balance still or may re-activate with future loads in a more destructive avalanche…steep convexities slid, but more planar slopes did not…
Weather: Clear, cold with light northerly breeze with visible transport off high peaks (teo, whiterock) at times. High around 20ºF. Morning temp at TH at 10am was 2ºF.

Snowpack: Generally shallow, weak, and faceted. with average HS 50-80cm.

One pit today, 70cm, 33* slope, SW facing NTL. Ct14 SC on basal depth hoar 4-6mm, but skinned 38*+ terrain with no signs of instability. I think persistent grains definitely exist on all aspects and elevations but slab has eroded. Sledding was challenging with track augering badly in shallow snowpack, don’t take your thumb off the throttle!

fresh D1.5 loose avalanche initiated off warming rock bands on SE facing steep slope on Teocalli

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Avalanches: On steep slopes that had avalanched previously, we skier triggered two sluffs that ran far, gouging to the ground, and could have knocked you over or buried you in a terrain trap. L-AS-R1-D1.5-O
Weather: Few clouds, cold temps, light northerly winds without snow transport.
Snowpack: About 4″ of settled storm snow, over crusts on southerly aspects (up to 2″ thick on steep S, thinner on SE) and facets on northerly aspects. No signs of wind loading or slabbiness in new snow.
Most paths on the northern half of the ridge ran naturally last month with crowns still visible, leaving a structure comprised of 1 -2′ of low density, faceted snow over ground/bedsurfaces. Dug one crown profile on a windloaded NE aspect near treeline, from an Xmas cycle slab avalanche (Photo #1). 95 cm of slab, mostly 1 finger rounds, over fist hard facets. Propagating results. (ECTP 16, Q1 SC, 95 cm deep) Dug another profile on a SE aspect near treeline, 28 degree slope (Photo #2). About 70 cm of faceted 4F to F snow, over 4F moist facets. No test results over the basal layer, but clean propagation in facets below the thin crust near the surface. Not an issue now but could be in the future. (ECTP1, Q1, SC, 10 cm deep).

NE aspect near treeline. ECTP16, Q1, SC results on fist hard depth hoar 95 cm deep.

SE aspect near treeline. No results except propagation below the near-surface crust.

Avalanches: Saw a small SS -AS -r1d1 on SE aspect on cascade. occurred on steep rolls ~40*.
Weather: Mostly cloudy with occasional light snow. Visibility limited at times. Light winds with occasional light gusting.
Snowpack: New snow had yet to settle much with little to no slab formation in top 30cm. Ski pen around 25cm. Terrain in area toured showed persistent slab structure. Total depth was between 130cm – 200cm. Beneath new snow was a very supportive slab that was generally 1f density ranging in thickness from 80cm – 150cm. This strong slab was bridging well developed facets at ground. Structure was a bit concerning. Skied terrain up to ~38* without incident.

Avalanches:
Weather: High around 20F small period of S-1. Overcast sky most of the day. Light winds from the N/NE, partly cloudy with a few snow squalls and a nice sunny period in the afternoon.
Snowpack: Ob#1: HS averaged 80-90cm. We dug 2 pits, 28/32* slopes and did several CT’s. We had consistent results: CTH (21/22) with most releasing at and just above the DH layer on the ground. One result released 10 cm just above the DH layer (30 cm from the ground) with a SC. We had 1F hardness in our mid pack which made for very supportive skiing.
Ob#1: HS ranges from 75-88 cm. In our pit we got moderate results on CT tests releasing on the
DH layer (2-3 cm) on the ground. Got no results on ECT test. Still a 4F harness soft slab but it is faceting out. Pit was on a NE aspect on a 26 degree slope.

Avalanches: Got a brief window of vis into the southern Ruby Range. Observed a number of loose dry avalanches that look like they ran mid-storm, and one natural small soft slab (~20 feet wide, <12″ deep) on a NE aspect ATL.  SS-N-R1-D1-I
Weather:
Snowpack: About 8-10″ of settled storm snow, not showing signs of slabbiness except in most heavily wind affected areas, where we observed minor cracking in the new snow.

Avalanches: NE Aspect above tree line: SS-AS-R1-D1 on >35 degree convexity. Slab was 2 inches deep and didn’t have force to knock a person down.
Weather: Overcast and light winds for most part with pockets of sun. One 15 minute period of S1 snow produced 1cm of snow in skin track a the top of the rollers. That same time period produced winds that transported snow along the surface NTL, but not enough to create new wind slabs or change avalanche hazard.
Snowpack: NE: BTL/NTL up to 8 inches of new snow (48 hours)
NE: ATL: 12 inches of snow (48 hours)
SW: 5 inches of snow with sun crust below (48 hours)

Avalanches: Intentionally triggered a soft wind slab on a test slope on the way up. R1 D1 that appeared to break on top of the new snow from yesterday and the day prior. Crown was approximately 1-1.5 feet and 30 feet wide. This was on a E aspect below treeline.
Another intentional trigger near treeline, also soft wind slab R1D1. Similar crown statistics but maybe 10-15 feet wider. This slide was on a steeper more continuous slope and the slide broke upon a suncrust (or the very solid surface of the Xmas slab). Seemed like a pretty classic example of how new snowfall may not affect avy danger but as soon as the wind picked up avalanches became more likely.
Weather: Cold in the morning (5F at th) with light snow. Ruby Range socked in all day. Local winds appeared to be out of the SW in some areas despite NW flow aloft. Moderate wind loading witnessed with lee typically E-SE aspects.
Snowpack: Returned to area skied yesterday and snow surface was more cohesive. Two inches of new snow but definite wind affect in isolated areas from the previous night.

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Avalanches:
Weather:
Snowpack: Sluffy, lumpy then rotty

Avalanches: On slope between 35 and 40 degrees with shallow snow as evidenced by willows and bedrock, triggered 1 L-AS-D1-R2 slide, which traveled for 30 feet. Tested other slopes and areas off skin track and didn’t observe cracking, whumping, or collapsing.
Weather: Overcast skys with intermittent periods of S-1. Calm
Snowpack: Up to 10 cm of recent snow within 36 hours. Snow was wetter relative to snow found on Anthracite Mesa on 1/7/16.

Avalanches: None.
Weather: See profile. Calm wind and light snowfall with periods of no precipitation.
Snowpack: See profile.

Jan.-8-Snodgrass