Schuykill Avi Activity

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 03/10/2016
Subject: Schuykill Avi Activity
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 10800

Avalanches: Skier remotely triggered avalanche in thanksgiving bowl while skiing the ridge. Broke about 100′ to skiers right with a 10” crown roughly 50′ wide and ran 700′. Picture in MRs post a couple obs down. A second much smaller avalanche broke at skiers feet 500′ below where the first started. Roughly 15′ wide and running 30′. Skier was able to ski out of it.
Weather: Clear
Snowpack:

Red Lady Glades

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/10/2016
Name: Dave
Subject: Red Lady Glades
Aspect: South East, South
Elevation: 9,300-12,392

Avalanches: New snow from Mondays storm has had a chances to warm up on S-SE with the high temps creating wet loose slides running on the dust crust at Elv 11,000. I ski cut a small (D1) wet loose and Chris got one to go after he skied down. (see photos) There was a skier triggered larger wet loose in the steeper area that a solo skied triggered before we got there. Also Will’s group got a large crack but nothing moved when they where above the steep part of the glades.
Weather: Clear skies, warm calm winds at 11,000 Elv T20= 0°C Surf 1*C Air=7°C
Snowpack:

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Whetstone

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations, Snow Profiles

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/10/2016
Name: Zach Guy
Subject: Whetstone
Aspect: North East, East, South East, South
Elevation: 8,800 – 12,100

Avalanches: None in this area. Observed a handful of fresh wet loose today further up valley in areas that had more snow from the last storm (Mineral Pt, Mt. CB, White Mtn, etc) on SE, S, SW, and W aspects N/ATL, all D1 to D1.5 in size.
Weather: Warm temps. Measured 34*F at 12,100 ft at 14:30. Calm to light breeze from the west. A few thin clouds.
Snowpack: See video. 2-4″ of settled storm snow was not enough to cause any real concerns for wet loose or our new layer of persistent slabs over the 3/6 facets in this area. On SE and S facing slopes, the recent storm snow became wet and consolidated to less than an inch thick above the still frozen 3/6 crust/dust layer without any rollerballs. On the most windloaded ATL slopes facing NE, there was 8″ of F+ settled snow over the 3/6 facet layer, and we did not see signs of instability or get any results on this layer in a pit. I probed around on several E and NE facing slopes above treeline and found a widely variable structure, generally shallow. Profile from a somewhat representative location below.

3/10. Snow profile on NE aspect ATL of Whetstone Mtn

3/10. Snow profile on NE aspect ATL of Whetstone Mtn

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Natural wet loose off of S face of Mineral Point

Red Lady Glades

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/10/2016
Name: Will
Subject: Red Lady Glades
Aspect: South East, South
Elevation: 9,300-12,392

Avalanches: New snow from Mondays storm has had a chances to warm up on S-SE with the high temps creating wet loose slides running on the dust crust at Elv 11,000. In the photo if you look closely you can see crown of a wet loose slide running diagonally down the picture frame triggered from the ridge line.
Weather: Clear skies, warm calm winds at 11,000 Elv T20= 0°C Surf 1*C Air=7°C
Snowpack:

Wet-Loose

Skier triggered slides on Schuylkill Ridge

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 03/10/2016
Name: Dan Loftus
Subject: Skier triggered slides on Schuylkill Ridge
Aspect: North East
Elevation: Near treeline

Avalanches: See photos. First skier triggered the slide on an old bed surface that had run early season. I then triggered another skiing down to him. Both crowns were 8-10″ or so. Both fractured at our feet and we were both able to stay on our feet and ski out. Snow moved on the slow side for the pitch we were on.
Weather:
Snowpack:

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schuykill avalanche activity

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 03/10/2016
Name: MR
Subject: Schuykill avalanche activity
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 11400-9200

Avalanches: Pair before us remote triggered a R2D2 slab avalanche on thanksgiving bowl, maybe they’ll give their own report. We triggered some hang fire above the main slide, R1D2, ran slowly but enough to take you off your feet and into trees that would ruin your day. 8 inch slab. As we skied down any convexities popped loose that hadn’t already but ran with little to no energy. Down lower, maybe around 10,200?, we tried to trigger at some convexities but the slab seemed to be bonding better to the sun crust lower down.
Weather: very warm, calm winds, clear
Snowpack: storm snow settling into creamy pow. The warming slab is resting on facets up high, sun crust down low

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Poverty Gulch

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 03/10/2016
Subject: Poverty Gulch
Aspect: East, South East, South
Elevation: ATL

Avalanches: After over night freeze, surface snow gained solar very quickly. Especially in absence of cooling wind.Snowballs rolling out of heating rockbands would fan out and pick up volume in track. By noon many areas were seeing surface, new snow, sluffs. Some ran long track. Didn’t observe any stepping down into old pack. Above 11,500 or so much evidence of wind transport and shallow surface wind slabs. On way out saw couple skier triggered new snow sluffs that ran long distances in confined features facing NE along Skuklyll ridge.
Weather: Blue Bird, barely a breeze on Richmond ridge. Enormous solar gain today.
Snowpack: 4-7″ new snow on frozen old surfaces. Most elevations seemed to have a good bond with the old surface. Till the sun got to it on steeper aspects.

Coney’s

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/09/2016
Name: DB
Subject: Coney’s
Aspect: North East, East, South, West
Elevation: 9.5- 11K

Avalanches:
Weather: Overcast skies nearly all day till 1500 when the sun poked out, Winds Light, had a 2hr period of S 1 snow. Did not amount to much, but it felt like winter again. Morning temp was -1 c, afternoon cooled down as the from moved in temp went down to -4.5c. There was not much solar effect to today.
Snowpack: No signs of instability on tour. ski pen was 10cm & boot ben was 25cm. The skiing was good. You could still feel the old layers of snow in steeper areas but we got some good powder skiing in.

Coney’s

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/08/2016
Name: JB
Subject: Coney’s
Aspect: North East, East, South, West
Elevation: 9.5- 11K

Avalanches:
Weather: Clear skies nearly all day, Winds Light- Moderate NW, Intense Solar,
Snowpack: No signs of instability on tour
~4” of snow had drifted in along skin track overnight, 1/2 way up on open slope and less drifting closer to ridge top
Steep 40-50* road cuts on S-W were moist but new snow was well bonded to old snirt layer (rough broken shears)

Snodgrass

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/08/2016
Name: Will
Subject: Snodgrass
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: 9,600-9,200

Avalanches:
Weather: Spring Break 2016 wheres the beach…sunny, warm, calm wind
Snowpack: 0°CT20cm Surf 1.6°C, 4″ of new snow with settlement around tree wells. Strong solar warmed up the top layer, but the light breeze kept the snow dry. No signs of instability.