Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 11/29/2018
Name: billy bar
Subject: Gothic 7am Report
Aspect:
Elevation:
Avalanches:
Weather: Light off and on snow Thursday afternoon, them picking up at sunset and going until near midnight, then starting again a few hours later. Generally moderate with 8″ new and water 0.59″. Snowpack is at winters deepest of 22½”. Currently obscured and snowing lightly. Wind is calm and temp. stayed at 24F all night.
Snowpack:
Photos:
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 11/28/2018
Name: Ben Ammon
Subject: Red Lady, Red Coon Glades
Aspect: East, South East, South, South West
Elevation: BTL, NTL, ATL
Avalanches:
Weather: Broken skies in the morning, snow started around 10am, picked up in intensity at 11am, and was snowing heavily by the afternoon. Winds were calm to start, then light towards moderate ATL.
Snowpack: Crusts on S, SE, SW aspects with slope angles greater than 15 degrees. Observed a large collapse on S aspect NTL in Red Lady Glades. Sudden results NTL in Red Lady Glades. S and SE aspects ATL primarily scoured and still not accumulating new snow. Similar crust formation in Red Coon Glades.
Photos:
Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 11/27/2018
Name: Kirk Haskell
Subject: Coney’s
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 10903
Avalanches:
Lots of signs of old activity but nothing new to speak of.
Weather: Weather was calm and clear at the time.
Snowpack: We experienced some whumphing but mostly in the valleys, windloading at top.
Photos:
Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 11/27/2018
Name: Evan Ross
Subject: Snowpack structure is still scary, obvious sings to instability are fewer.
Aspect: North East, East, South East
Elevation: 10,600ft-11,000ft
Avalanches:Â Carnage from last weekend. Nothing drastically new.
Weather: Clear sky becoming mostly cloudy in the afternoon. Winds looked to be picking up at higher elevations with some gusts down low. As winds picked up I didn’t see any snow blowing around.
Snowpack:Â Afternoon ski and look about. Few obvious sings to instability despite some poor snowpack structure. If an avalanche offered you candy would you take it?
Took a ski off to measure boot pen on an ENE slope at about 10,300ft. Stepping into the snowpack produced a sonic boom that had me cowering like a cat. Classic, no obvious sings to instability, then boom… Cracks shot for hundreds of feet and linked hillsides via changes in aspects or through meadows. Oddly enough the cracks didn’t appear on some more ESE facing slopes, but the collapse had linked through them and appeared on other more ENE facing slopes further away. More snowpack structure info in pics. Boot pen to the ground.
Despite some talk of surface hoar, didn’t really observe any slope scale surface hoar. Even on more shaded and northerly terrain features. Small NSF on northeasterly slopes, with moist snow surfaces on SE facing slopes. On slopes under 35 degrees facing ESE or SE that moist snow looked like it would form a 2-3cm crust as it refreezes.
Photos:
On 11/25 a shallow avalanche out of extreme terrain released a large powder cloud dusting a large area with snow and shallow debris.
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 11/26/2018
Name: Eric Murrow
Subject: Avalanche Obs from Kebler Pass Area
Aspect:
Elevation: 9200′ – 12400′
Avalanches:
Scoping around the Kebler Pass area from the Red Lady skin track avalanches from Saturday and Sunday were extensive.
Starting with Axtel – numerous slides in Green Lake Bowl/Chutes, the Tongue (feature between Green Lake and 4th bowl), nearly all of 4th Bowl, nearly all of 3rd Bowl. Many ran early in the storm and were partially refilled.
Anthracites-multiple crowns in Playground, upper Playground underneath East Ohio Peak, refilled in most areas
Owen-multiple crowns on north and easterly aspects
Redwell Basin – multiple crowns, refilled in many places
Again avalanches were focused on N, NE, and E. After checking out Kebler Pass and Paradise Divide area, a huge portion of N and NE NTL and ATL terrain avalanched. I would be highly suspicious of any steep N, NE, or E terrain NTL and ATL that did not slide. Most photos were a bit boring because many crowns and paths refilled, but included are a small sample of activity.
Weather:
Snowpack:
Photos:
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 11/26/2018
Name: Steve Banks
Subject: Red Lady
Aspect: South East, South
Elevation: 9,400-12,300
Avalanches: Forecasters investigated the Red Lady Bowl Avalanche from 11/24/18. This avalanche was skier triggered by the 1st skier dropping into the bowl. The skier was not caught and not carried. The avalanche triggered just behind and to the right of the skier, with the sympathetic avalanche releasing to his left. The rest off the party descended the intact slope between the slides.
A new avalanche appeared in Red Lady Bowl far skiers right side. Apparently remotely triggered by a party on the ridge? R1-D1.5 releasing out of steep, rocky terrain.
Weather: Sunny! Cold temperatures with light winds becoming moderate from the NW in the afternoon.
Snowpack: Widespread surface hoar formation, though the sun was breaking it down unless shaded where it remained preserved. HS 40-60 cms with a strengthening “midpack”, though overall still a very weak snowpack. Weak basal facets capped by a crust even in lower angle southerly terrain.
Investigation of the Red Lady avalanche showed a crown reaching 1 meter deep. The snow pack was surprisingly strong (Pencil harness) in the middle. Basel facets were extremely weak and approaching depth hoar status at the ground. These were capped by two crusts with facets in-between. This weak layer of facets below the crusts seemed to be the culprit in Sunday’s avalanche as the double crust was intermittent and discontinuous.
Photos:
Looking up at the crown and the rocky bed surface
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 11/26/2018
Name: Will Nunez
Subject: Red Lady Glades
Aspect: South East, South
Elevation: 11,000
Avalanches:
D2 RLB
And small pocket in isolated steep train, Red Lady Glades.
Weather: Sunny, warm, light wind
Snowpack: -S-SE Aspect HS 30cm to 85cm
– whomping and collapsing off the skin track
– the snow pack structure went from SH 2-3mm, F, 4F, 1F, 2cm crust w/ 1-2cm DH above and 1-2cm Facets below to F to the ground.
Photos:
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 11/26/2018
Name: MR
Subject: Red Lady Glades Tour
Aspect:
Elevation: 9,300-12,300
Avalanches:
Besides the Red Lady Bowl one, widespread avalanches visible on Axtell – Green Lake Bowl, the shield, 4th bowl, 3rd bowl all widespread activity, see attached photo.
Weather: Cold, clear, winds out of the northwest?, witnessed snow being transported off ridges on Axtell, tho winds were moderate on the summit of Emmons.
Snowpack: Collapsing and whoomphing when poking around off the skin track on the ridge, successfully triggering one r1d1 on NE aspect. Large long crack in the cornice where you first attain the ridge, tried unsuccessfully to trigger it by throwing rocks on it. Southern snow in the glades felt supportive. Down low some zipper crusts had formed from yesterday’s sun.
Photos:
Red Lady Bowl avalanche from November 26, 2018
Avalanches on Axtel from November 24 storm
Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 11/26/2018
Name: Cam
Subject: Post Storm
Aspect: South
Elevation: 9-12 K
Avalanches:
Saw far off slides on Peeler Peak and Little Silver Basin (both E facing). They were large enough to notice in low light but hard to pick out any details.
Oh, and looks like the bowl slid…
Weather: -13 leaving the car. Felt much warmer as we climbed. Calm until reaching the summit ridge.
Snowpack: ~12 inches of new snow lower in the trees, as well as on the due south faces near and above treeline where the wind likely carried some. Near treeline that new snow was above a crust with facets beneath. Above treeline it appears to have fallen on dry ground or maybe a hard crust to the ground in places.
No instabilities while we were descending. I did notice some pockets of E facing rollovers and convexities slid pretty nice even well below treeline.
Photos:
