Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/11/2018
Name: Karin Pocock/Billy Rankin

Subject: Level 2 Avy Course Tour days Sat/Sun
Aspect: North, North East
Elevation: 9,400′ – 11,100′

Avalanches:
Weather: Sat: Partly cloudy, L-M breeze from the NW, cool to start the day, then temps warm enough to moisten snow surfaces below 10,200ft in the afternoon.
Sun: High clouds throughout the day. No wind. Warming temps during the day. A solid refreeze had occurred overnight leaving a variable thickness mfcr up to 3cm in places that did not noticeably soften until 11:30am.
Snowpack: HS 80-120cm. Several pits dug by each touring group each day. Overall, very few signs of instability notes while skiing: no cracking or collapsing, no new avalanches noted. Pits consistently showed a 65-80cm persistent slab 4F-P in hardness sitting on 20-40cm of 4F FC/DH up to size 4. On the most northerly aspects that we looked at the midpack slab was more facetted and tended towards 1F at it’s hardest.
All pits showed roughly the same tests results on both days:
CT’s 12 thru 22 SC dwn 80 failing on DH size 4.
ECTX
PST 20-35/100 end dwn 80 failing on DH size 4.

We consistently showed the definition of “spooky moderate” to our students, few signs of instability while traveling and skiing coupled with pit tests that indicated the construction for avalanches that would be dangerous to skiers if triggered.

Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/11/2018
Name: Ross Matlock

Subject: Level 1 avalanche course tour day
Aspect: North, North East
Elevation: 9,400′-11,100′

Avalanches:
Weather: High clouds throughout the day. No wind. Warming temps during the day.
Snowpack: HS varied between 50cm 120cm, very aspect related. The persistent slab structure is present on the northerly aspects on Snodgrass but weakening. Hasty pits revealed moderate to hard results failing from a melt freeze crust mid to lower pack or failing at the depth hoar, ground level. The upper snow pack is trending toward rounding facets. No cracking, collapsing or instabilities were found today.

Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/10/2018
Name: Karin, Level 2 Avalanche Course

Subject: Level 2 Avalanche Course
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: 9800-10300

Avalanches:
Weather:
Snowpack: It’s the same as it always is with a slightly denser slab on top…where ever there is skiing ie E, NE, there are limited signs of instability while touring, but pit tests have scat results indicative of significant destructive avalanches being possible. 9800-10300 NE [ have been able to repeat these results all over the place..ie these are consistent) CT(22) SC down 80 size 4 DH…ECTX…PST 20-35/100 end down 65-80 on either FC size 2 or DH size 4 depending on location

Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/11/2018
Name: Ben Pritchett

Subject: two great days w/ the Choice Pass program, Snodgrass and Mt. Emmons

Weather: High thin clouds slowed warm up Saturday and Sunday, but it’s happening. Temps eeking above freezing at 11,000′, but crushing into the 40’s in the valley floors.
Snowpack: Definitely a line in the snow out there. Dry or wet.
At around due east or just north of east if the terrain is steeper, you can still find dry snow so long as the sun hasn’t kissed it. Shade is key right now for any hope of dry snow. Even lower-angled northerly terrain that doesn’t have a blocking ridge above is getting kissed and crusted. Snow surfaces on these shady aspects are gaining strength, though the weak layers below just don’t have enough overburden to change much at all. Surprisingly the depth hoar is still 4-Finger stiff and the grains are still crisp and sharp-edged. The weak layer structure is clearly not very different from a week ago, though the slabs are stiffening and clearly stubborn to human triggering. You still won’t find me center-punching 40+ degree near treeline right now, unfortunately. I’d like to see the weak layers get stronger / stiffer before really laying it out there.
On the other side of the line, snow surfaces on steep south aspects wetted Sunday up to near treeline. Below 11,000′ we found mud, dust, areas with 20-60cm of isothermal (wet all the way through) mush, and remnant dry snow – essentially very mixed bag and few continuous patches of dry weak layers remain between southeast and west below 11,000′. But above there, it’s still a dry snowpack even on the sunny side, though that dry snowpack is topped with a few cm of melt forms or crust depending on the time of day. Weak layers below still haven’t changed under the influence of water yet.
Only in very thin, and steep spots could I find water percolating more than 5-10cm from the surface, in most places the free water is still held in the top 5cm above 11,000′.

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/09/2018
Name: Alex Banas

Subject: Irwin Guides Observation
Aspect: North, North East
Elevation: 9,400′-11,100′

Avalanches:
Weather: igh clouds throughout the morning with a brief clearing trend around 1300. Warm temps. Calm gusting to moderate down-valley winds.
Snowpack: HS varied from 60-120cm. Persistent slab structure is present on the northerly aspects on Snodgrass, decreasing slab thickness as the aspect tilted more easterly. A few 50cm deep hand pits showed moderate to hard results failing above a stout MFcr. The 4f upper pack is comprised of rounding facets. No cracking, collapsing or avalanches observed today.

Photos:

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 03/08/2018
Name: Eleven Cat Operation

Subject: Eleven Cat Operation
Aspect:
Elevation:

Avalanches:

1 x D 0.5 WL in Sonic at 1200

Weather: Max temp 37 at ST, but ridge stayed below freezing and cool with consistent, strong SW gusts. Plums off surrounding peaks most of the day. Sunny morning turned OVC by 1500.
Snowpack: Surface conditions warmed where protected from strong SW gusts. Definitely no water moving through snowpack yet. Sunny shoulder still supportive cream at 1300. Most aspects and terrain zippered again at 1500.

Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/08/2018
Name: Chris Martin

Subject: RLB OBS
Aspect: South East, South
Elevation: 8,900-12,000

Avalanches:
Weather: Clear sky in the morning becoming slightly overcast as the day progressed. Light winds with strong gusts at red lady summit. Temps at 10am 2C valley bottom. Warming with strong solar AM down low and throughout the day but no enough for most of crust in RLB to become soft. Winds near summit kept air and snow cool. Overcast increasing late in day.
Snowpack: Bomber crust refreeze overnight at elevations (BTL) traveled today. Crusts and dry snow interspersed all aspects BTL. Crust quickly warmed but staying supportive BTL. Snow found in RLB was on the edge of being dry snow but quickly crusting, I think we caught the last day before full crustage. Nice supportable powder skiing. Avg HS 40-120cm. Skiers Left side of the bowl is holding around 260cm +/- in start zone.

@11400’ S aspect. HS 110cm ranging from F,4F,1F to ground with ranges from 1F- towards bottom of snowpack (Top-Bottom). Snowpack in this specific spot, consolidating.

Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/08/2018
Name: Ben Pritchett

Subject: Another view of Gothic Fork and Mt. CB wet slides

Avalanches: Gothic, the Fork; Mt. CB, the Funnel; Mt. CB, Terminator Chutes.

Weather: Warm afternoon with high, thin clouds. Nearby weather stations recorded that high temps reached 40 @ Schofield, 42 in Gothic, 36 on Snodgrass.
Snowpack: Water starting to play a role in avalanche activity. Still mostly confined to snow surfaces, but the spring snow transition has begun.

Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 03/08/2018
Name: Alex Tiberio

Subject: Slide off Gothic
Aspect: East, South East
Elevation:

Avalanches:

Watched a slide off “the fork” I believe it’s called on gothic this afternoon. Not the most obvious crown/triggerpoint, but grew on its way down. Ran about 2/3 of the way down the terrain trap below it.

Weather: A warm day
Photos:

Location: Cement Creek Area
Date of Observation: 03/07/2018
Name: Ben Pritchett

Subject: Upper Cement Creek / Upper Taylor

Avalanches: Numerous old D2 and D2.5 avalanches on northwest, north, to southeast aspects. See a sampling in the video.

Weather: Warm and calm, high thin clouds developing in the afternoon.
Snowpack: Generally faceted and weak. Trenchy sledding. Minor collapsing near treeline at the margins of slabs comprised of old wind deposited snow. Valley bottoms severely impacted by sustained inversions, creating unsupportive, completely rotten snowpack. As soon as you climb above the inversions, the mid-pack gains some strength and the Persistent Slab structure is in place.
Mostly dry surfaces, except on steeper sunny terrain, where free water had not yet percolated below the March 4th interface.