Avalanches: Nothing new. Some crowns on various aspects NTL that likely ran during 1/23 cycle. See photos.
Weather: Light winds with no transport observed around the range. Mild temps. Thin few to scattered clouds.
Snowpack: Near treeline, there was 20 to 25 cm of F+ to 4F- slab above surface hoar in 4 different pits. Easy, sudden collapse results in compression tests, Q2 sheers in tilt tests, and no propagation in ECTs. The surface hoar is harder to ID on northerly aspects because it is surrounded by DF’s. On SW aspects, the recent persistent slabs were spottier in distribution due to wind scouring last week, but I dug into one SW pitch that I wouldn’t normally expect to find SH (due to its windward/sunny location) and it was still there. We got several small collapses and some moderate cracking in drifted areas along a low angle ridgeline.
Below treeline, there was only ~15 cm of recent snow over Jan 19 interface, and it has all faceted on northerlies or crusted on southerlies, so the persistent slab problem is a non-issue here, just minor facet sluffing. Surfaces are weakest below treeline right now from the wild inversions with widespread near surface facets and patchy surface hoar extending up to NTL on shady aspects. Moistening surfaces on steep southerlies.

D1. West aspect NTL.

2x D2 NE aspect NTL

Near surface faceting and patchy surface hoar on shaded aspects.

NE aspect NTL. CTE, SC on buried SH.

SW aspect NTL. CTE, SC on buried SH over a crust.

D1. NE aspect NTL.

D1.5 NW aspect NTL.

Avalanches: Popped this from the skinner on White. East, 12000 feet prob 1 foot deep most. Lots of cracking/collapsing on on the way up, seems touchy w wind slabs up there
Weather:
Snowpack:

white-1-of-1-6

Avalanches: Observed one D2 wind slab slab on a west aspect ATL and one D1.5 point release on a SE aspect NTL that entrained a solid amount of snow on its way down. Also jumped around on some steep rollovers below Gothic Rd but nothing budged other than some minor facet sluffing.
Weather: See profile. Few clouds with light winds. Cold.
Snowpack: See profile. SH layer was decomposing and hard to identify without tests. Yet again it produced non propagating results in tests.

Jan-28-Snodgrass-Pit

Avalanches: SS-R1-D2-AE-O 30-100cm deep crown X 40ft wide, 36* bed surface at start zone. As it ran over the cliff it triggered a ~100cm slab below on the apron, which is very similar aspect & angle as yesterday’s D2 below Pre-Evac/NC Apron. F-4F-1F slab over thin FC layer resting on smooth, untraveled MFcr.

Below Thin Line:
SS-R1-D1-AB-O ~30cm deep X 80Ft wide X ~45ft high pocket that stopped
on treed bench. Same layering as on Bender slide
Weather:
Snowpack: 3 collapses: 1 Medium collapse with ~35ft shooting crack ~45cm down (same layering as above) ~60ft West of the D1 below Thin line on ~20* bench. This was after a 6# hand charge (60ft above crack) at the base of the cliff dropped a sizeable cornice that ran ~250ft downhill & did not collapse this layer. 1 small collapse on Crotch ~30* slope after 1st cover shot ~15ft away from crater. Below Dogleg RT on Sunny shoulder: Small collapse on ~*30 top of rolls over 1 snowpit on Sunny Shoulder RT, Thin rocky spot 1/2 down slope, HS 105cm, bottom 60cm FC ~3mm, above: alternating Mfcr & FC layers. ECTN

IMG_9034

IMG_9030

Avalanches: A couple naturals in the past 24 hours and what appeared to be a snowmobile triggered slide across Kebler Road today.
Weather:
Snowpack:

D1 across Kebler Road.  Looks like it was probably snowmobile triggered today. SSE aspect BTL

Avalanches:
Weather: Few clouds and light winds out of the North. High winds at ridge crest should have been visible from just about anywhere in the valley today. There was also a moderate inversion today. Touring up higher made digging in the snow bearable.
Snowpack: One crew toured up about an hour into Red Lady Glades and practiced snow profiles in one site. The other group toured up Red Coon Glades and did a series of observations on different aspects. CT Results revealed planar failures down 40-53cm on the 1/19 SH Layer or a Near Crust Facet Layer depending on aspect. Failure was also observed on a mid-storm layer down 26cm, which was also found in tilt tests. The failure there was on small preserved stellar and DF, but there was not a cohesive slab above the failure.

Propagation tests showed either ECTN or X on our layer of concern and PSTs went 68/100 End and 95/100 End down 53cm on the 1/19 Crust Facet Combo

Up higher in Red Coon Glades we had some subtle but repeatable whumphing. The first we’ve heard after this last round of storms. From looking at the grains and performing all the tests our results would seem to confirm the avalanche bulletin from this morning. As such we kept our terrain choices conservative(

Avalanches: No indicators on skin track or ski down on south facing slope.
Weather: Clear and calm.
Snowpack: About 4 to 5 inches of new snow within last 24 to 48 hours.

SW aspect in open area had a 1-2 inch shallow windslab overlying loose snow on top of crust.

South aspect: at least 4 inches on sun crust.

Avalanches: Observed on Happy Chutes BTL and within past 48 hours?:
two D2 slides on the northern side. Appeared to be naturally caused from cross loaded slopes

at least two D1 slides in line with Warming Hut. One appeared to be skier triggered.
Weather: Freaking cold even in the sun. Clear and calm.
In AM observed east winds blowing copious amounts of snow on summits of Whetstone and north ridge of Mt. Emmons.

In PM, observed wind shift with snow being blown from the west on same peak and ridge. Also observed west winds blowing snow in Paradise Divide.
Snowpack: Keystone which is bottom of Red Lady Glades:
Average Depth: 68 inches
snow water equivalent (SWE): 17.1 inches
snow density: 25%

Crested Butte near Warming Hut:
Average depth: 62 inches
SWE: 15.8 inches
snow density: 25%

Avalanches: Several small (D1) windslabs above treeline that ran in the past 24 to 48 hours or so, on NE, E, and S aspects in the Ruby Range. One ran today. Evidence of some larger debris piles from earlier in the storm cycle from above treeline paths, but crowns are blown clean now. Explosive triggered one large persistent slab on a SE aspect near treeline, 65-80 cm thick. HS-AB-R2-D2-O on facets and decomposing SH over a crust (Jan 19 interface). Remotely ski triggered small pocket on SE aspect near treeline. HS-ASr-R1-D1-I. 40-50cm deep, 20′ wide on the Jan 19 interface.  Good views of from Scarp Ridge with no other significant slides observed.
Weather: Moderate plumes from northerly winds this morning eased through the day. Cold temps, few clouds.
Snowpack: In Irwin Terrain, skier triggered multiple large collapses and a long shooting crack on a S/SE aspect near treeline, ~33* slope, that didn’t avalanche. Subsequent test pits revealed the Jan 19 interface 50cm’s down and produced a couple CTV during isolation, CTE 5, ECTP1 & 12 & 15 all Sudden Collapses on the crust with 1-2mm facets and some SH observed.

Recent wind slab

Explosive triggered persistent slab. HS-AB-R2-D2-O

D1 wind slab ran today. Maybe cornice triggered?

Small, recent wind slabs

Larger debris from last avalanche cycle. Crown filled in.

Crown of explosive triggered persistent slab, 60-85 cm thick on facet/SH/crust. SE aspect NTL

Avalanches: Observed 2 avalanches on Coneys Proper.
Weather: Clear, Calm
Snowpack: Ski pen: 33
Boot Pen: 51
Slope 31 degrees
Column Test produced sudden planer collapse on CT 2 at 31 cm

avalanches

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