Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 02/14/2019
Name: Eleven Cat Ski Guides

Subject: Eleven PM Report
Aspect: East, South East, South, South West, West
Elevation: 10-12,000ft

Avalanches:

SE, NTL:

“Thin Line” HS-AE-R3-D2-O FC (78cm x 14m x 140m) Failed on FC on 1/15 IF, stepped down mid path released slab
on lower slope 1/15 IF

“Hollywood & Vine” HS-AB-R4-D2.5-O FC (100cm x 50m x 160m) Slope ran full path on 1/15 IF, debris ran out of
photo

Weather: Snowed in am with a break from 1100-1400. Snow picked up again S1 after 1400….

Snowpack: Snowpack observations: No signs of instabilities from the guide team. Good skiing and not feeling the bottom
with ski pen 20cm. Dense, moist storm snow. As of 1600, 8″ / .85″ SWE.

See attached profile from SS team

Photos:

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 02/14/2019
Name: Alex Banas

Subject: Finding some shallow love in Evan (Basin)
Aspect: East, South East
Elevation: NTL

Avalanches:

While touring up the Evans Basin ridge we remote triggered the steep, E-SE slope from 30′ away. It ran 150m wide and ran to the valley floor. Crown averaged 40cm’s deep with max depth of 65cms’s. It ran on small grained facets above a stout 2cm thick melt freeze crust. It was the 1/15 or 1/21 PWL. Midslope, it stepped down to the holiday? PWL for a 15m wide crown. SS-ASr-D2.5-O

Weather: Overcast day with calm winds and warm temps. Starting snowing S1 at 1330.

Snowpack: Today we toured up from the bottom of Elk Creek through Evans basin and over to RLG. We dug on a near treeline, east facing aspect with a hint of north in Elk Basin. HS 200cm, CT 12 SC on small grained facets down 65cm’s (1/21) The 1/15 PWL was down 80cm’s.

Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 02/14/2019
Name: billy barr

Subject: Gothic Townsite 7am Obs
Aspect:
Elevation: 9000

Avalanches:

Weather: Moderate to light snow starting just before sunset before strong, steady wind starts up around 3 a.m. New snowfall is 5″ with 0.53″ water in a warm, dense, wind driven snowfall. Snowpack back up to 53½”. Overnight low of 21F and current 26F with obscured cloud cover and very light to no snow. billy

Snowpack:
Photos:

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 02/14/2019
Name: Evan Ross

Subject: East Beckwith
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: 8,800-10,300

Avalanches:

Weather: Overcast sky and calm to light wind. No blowing snow observed and not really too much for drifting from last night in this area. Mostly S-1 through the day. Clouds where hanging on the peaks, so not much for alpine observations.

Snowpack: 4″-5″ storm totals. No change in the avalanche problem as forecasted in this generally BTL type terrain.
Photos:

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 02/13/2019
Name: TC

Subject: Axtell 1st Bowl
Aspect: North
Elevation: 9,600-11,400

Avalanches:

No slabs, just sloughs. The far skier’s right entrance gully had sloughed through, presumably from previous skier traffic. Any undisturbed snow on the steepest portions of the slope was sloughing but not stepping down. Corner pocket had also run, but appeared to be natural and just in the new snow.

Weather: Overcast, mild temps (20s), light winds that were picking up toward the end of our tour ahead of the incoming storm system. Winds on the ridge were coming out of the SW, but down off the ridge winds were swirling, resulting in cross-loaded terrain features and some punchy wind crust in the more open terrain lower down.

Snowpack:

Photos:

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 02/12/2019
Name: Zach Kinler and Eric Murrow

Subject: Elk Creek Jaunt
Aspect: North East, South
Elevation: 9600′-10,400′

Avalanches:

1x SS-ASu-R1D1-O, NE Aspect BTL (2/11)
1x SS-ASu-R2D2-O NE Aspect BTL (2/11)
1x HS-N-R1D1-I S aspect BTL(several days old)

Weather: Sunny skies and little to no wind below tree line. Temps in the mid to upper 20s.

Snowpack: Two unique snowpack structures from South-North that will certainly cause problems if our next loading event verifies. Multiple crust facet combs on South which produced propagating results in an ECT and a collapse on approach to the 25 degree slope. Slabs above and in between these interfaces range from 4F-1F. HS ~130cm.  This test profile came from just above Kebler Pass road immediately above one of the ‘7 sisters’ slide paths. See picture.

On a NE aspect with HS ~160cm we investigated a skier-triggered avalanche from yesterday. The avalanche failed on 6-8 mm SH(see picture) that was likely buried on 1/21 with a crown depth ~45cm(see picture). This was an unsupported, open slope with many large boulders, rolls and small benches with slope angles ~38-40 deg at the top and ~35 deg mid track.  A test in an uncollapsed portion of the hangfire produced an ECTP14. The slide propagated into terrain as low as 30 deg. and ran 300-400 ft over the road to the creek. Debris was up to ~1m deep.

Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 02/12/2019
Name: Chris Martin

Subject: Slate river Valley Climax chutes NE ridge line
Aspect: North, North East
Elevation: 9800′

Avalanches:

D2 – R4 observed from afar in classic climax chute repeat offender. Seems to be a natural.
Seems to have run on New snow with significant propagation across path, breaking mid slope.

Weather: Light to moderate winds as ascended out of valley flowing from W-N. Warm day, Lower 20s with light cloud coverage.

Snowpack: HS 150-170cm
HST 30-40cm
Graupel layer 30-40 cm from surface consistent from lower elevations on up to pit site at 9800′. CTM PC. Seems to be settling out. This layer is present all around the zone form 2/3 grapple event?
Reactive layer 110 from surface to small column tests CTH SP
Basal Facets Very large in size with consolidation level at 4F reacting to small column tests DTH SC.
ECTX.

Spooky layers in depths of snowpack. With these present it’ll be a while till we’re stepping on steeper north slopes. These layers

See photo.
Photos:

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 02/11/2019
Name: Zach Kinler and Eric Murrow

Subject: Long Lake activity
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: 9,000-10,200

Avalanches:

No new avalanches observed.

Weather: Blustery and cold @ 11:00 with light to moderate winds at valley floor,16F, Broken skies. After frontal passage, skies cleared and temps warmed a bit with pleasant conditions in the trees.

Snowpack: Visited a D2 avalanche that failed around the 1/16-1/18 loading event. Bed surface was filled in with ~40 cm of F hard snow. HS near crown 130cm. This avalanche failed in an open East facing slope below tree line and propagated into sparse aspens and pines. The crown was ~ 60cm deep across the slope and bed surface was a 1.5cm crust 33 cm above the ground that likely formed after a warm dry spell in mid December left a crust on top of weak snow from Nov and early Dec . Below the crust was 3 mm F-4F- Depth Hoar/Faceted Crystals.

In the shallower zones with HS below 150 cm such as this area, the snowpack has old, well developed faceted snow, 4f hard, at the ground from Thanksgiving storms and a cohesive 1f slab resting above.  Mid-January (1/15) weak layer and 2/2 interface will be players during upcoming loading event as well as basal layers if loading comes slow and steady.  Test results were ECTN on 2/2 and ECTX.

Old bed surfaces from January avalanche cycles will come to life relatively early in the next loading event.  Snow from MLK week snow and 2/2-2/7 snow that filled in this bed surface is losing cohesion and faceting – will not accept much of a load before failing again.

Photos:

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 02/11/2019
Name: MR

Subject: skier triggered avalanches
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: 10,000-10,500

Avalanches:

I skier triggered R2.5D1.5 slide, would guess 150 feet wide, ENE aspect at around 10,400 feet Kebler/Town zone, trigger point probably right around 35 degrees, ran full track through sub 30 degree terrain, maybe 400 feet, running across a road cut and stopping at drainage bottom. We had witnessed one other skier triggered slide earlier in the day, R1.5D1, from another party, and thought we were moving to mellower terrain.
We discussed the reality that we were still skiing through an obvious start zone, but felt that the terrain was mellow enough that any instabilities would be localized in nature. The terrain did have a convexity on top that pushed just over 35 degrees but the rest of the terrain looked to be sub 30 degree. I was the first skier to drop. Just after skiing through the convexity in question, and noteworthy to say right when I felt like I had gotten past the potential trigger point, I saw the snow fracture in all directions under my feet. I immediately started traversing to my left toward my known safe zone. The snow was moving slowly and I didn’t feel all that endangered but I was surprised that as I traversed left the snow continued to fracture all around me and it took longer to get to my safe zone than I anticipated. Everything was still moving slowly when I got onto non-moving snow.
The slide continued over a second convexity, gaining momentum, and ended up running full track with speed and propagating to the left and right and developing a powder cloud. The avalanche ran through small trees but did not damage them, and we estimated the deposition pile to be around 3 feet deep as estimated on the road cut. Unfortunately I didn’t take the time to measure crown heights but from photos and memory would estimate to be between 6-18″. We do not believe it would have been deep enough to fully bury someone, but it ran fast enough to potentially cause serious injury in the handful of small trees it ran through at the bottom.
While we recognized and discussed the red flags we had already seen, we thought we were moving into manageable terrain. We obviously underestimated the potential for propagation and energy. See photos.

Weather:

Snowpack:
Photos:

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 02/10/2019
Name: Eric Murrow

Subject: Near and above treeline west faces
Aspect: North, North East, East, South East, South, South West, West, North West
Elevation:

Avalanches:

Two unobserved avalanches. one small slab in Axtel 2nd bowl apron, and another on drifted east facing ridge below treeline near Bracken Creek on north side of Anthracite Range.

Weather: Clear skies with moderate to strong gusts near and above treeline. Plumes and light loading from southerly winds periodically from highest terrain.

Snowpack: Took a tour out the Kebler Pass area looking at snow volumes on west-facing terrain to identify how much snow from the last storm stuck around from the prolonged SW winds earlier in the week. Found the most west facing upper elevation slopes were blown out and hammered by the wind. Very little evidence of avalanche activity on westerly slopes – may have been a few small slides but crowns were buffed over and debris was covered over. Suspected crowns were likely from the loading period in the second half of January, not the recent February storm.

Photos: