Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/26/2019
Name: billy barr
Subject: Gothic 7am Weather Update

Weather: Cloudy yesterday and last night with some brief periods of a little bit of clearing in the afternoon. Snow was off and on and usually light with light density yesterday but heavier density (8%) last night (midnight on). Currently cloudy with a pause in snow and no wind. Snow total of 4″ new and 0.27″ water and snowpack at 28″. Temperature starting dropping late morning but held firm over the night with a low of 10F while currently 11F. No wind- always a nice non-event.

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/25/2019
Name: Evan Ross
Subject: Blower And Some Wind
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 9,000ft to 11,400ft

Weather: Obscured to mostly cloudy. Several good snow squalls moving through, otherwise mostly S1 to S-1 light snowfall through the day. Moderate WSW winds drifting the new snow.

Snowpack: Definitely wow type blower out there. The new snow was very light and had no cohesion. 6″ new at 10,000ft at 11am. Another 1 to 2″ had accumulated by 3pm. Sluffing in steep protected terrain gouged into some of the old weak faceted snow below. Still, sluffs were small in size in this terrain. Persistent Slab structure continues to grow less of a concern, but there were still a few slopes below treeline that changed how I traveled through them. Those specific slopes needed an HS of about 120cm or more and to have not previously avalanched this season.

Didn’t travel on any real exposed section of ridge near treeline. The new snow was drifting onto the lee sides of the ridge. Where we skied off the ridge there was a few extra inches of wind-loaded snow, but still very soft and lacked a slab. At times when the visibility increased, much better active wind-loading could be seen in the alpine.

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Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/25/2019
Name: Ian Havlick
Subject: Christmas Day Red Lay-Day
Aspect: East, South East, South
Elevation: 9000-12,000

Avalanches: No signs of instability or fresh avalanches, poor visibility

Weather: 2-5″ of low density snow with westerly winds increasing near and above treeline. Kind of honking on ridgeline, 30-40mph. Temperatures were brisk.

Snowpack: 2-5″ new snow vastly improved skiing, with wind drifts 10-15″ in depth. Some slight cracking off ski tips off the top of bowl in fresh, denser windslabs. Crusts under new snow were felt at times, but not too bad!

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/25/2019
Name: Billy Barr
Subject: Gothic 7am Weather Update

Weather: Cloudy but mild overnight with steady but light snow. Currently cloudy with very light snowfall and SW wind 0-4. There was 2½” new snow with 0.16″ of water and the snowpack is at 25½”. Temperature reached 40F yesterday (third day in a row of record high, though yesterday’s tied 2010) with low today 21F, which is also the current.

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/24/2019
Subject: Bluebird boot top
Aspect: North East
Elevation: ATL-BTL

Avalanches: Saw one old natural (or possibly triggered by someone stomping ski at top of slope) on a due north aspect below treeline the would’ve raked you through trees and into a gully. None new seen.

Weather: Warm, sunny and not a lick of wind on the ridge top.

Snowpack: HS 150 cm in open areas up high, thin around outcroppings of rocks and convexities and a bit nervy as a result, definitely to be avoided.

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 12/24/2019
Name: Ian Havlick

Subject: Scarp Ridge/Independence Basin

Aspect: East, South East, South, South West, West

Elevation: 10-12,200

Avalanches: No new avalanches. Some minor dry loose and wet loose sluffs from rocks in extreme terrain over the last several days.

Weather: Mostly clear skies for morning with gradually increasing high and mid level clouds throughout afternoon. calm winds on ridgeline and mild, baselayer temps.

Snowpack: No tests performed, no real layers on concern in terrain traveled. Overlying slab continues to erode and facet, diminishing a more defined PSa structure. mixture of <1mm surface facets, preserved nicely from skiff of snow we received overnight/early this morning. Generally pleasant cold, dry snow found on low angled aspects traveled.

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 12/23/2019
Name: Zack Kinler & Eric Murrow

Subject: Kebler Pass area PM zip around

Aspect: North, North East, East, South East, South, South West, West, North West

Elevation: 9200′- 12000′
Avalanches: nothing recent to note. Found one unreported D2.5 on an east aspect of Oh-be-joyful Peak – east aspect above treeline. Likely failed around 12/14

Weather: Mild air temperatures and very light winds at ridgetop at 12k, like pleasant enough to not wear gloves on Scarps ridge. Clouds were on the increase and thickening to overcast by 4pm.

Snowpack: Went to take a look at snow surfaces around the area before the incoming storm. Significant Surface Hoar was present at the lowest elevations in inversion zones, but speaking with folks who toured in the Anthracites it was not present once out of the cold sinks at valley bottom. Shaded slopes in the town of CB had 1cm Surface Hoar. Melt/freeze crusts have developed on south aspects up to 12k, around 2.5cm thick. As you transition east or west these crusts taper off in thickness quickly.
Poked a quick hole into a drifted south-facing slope at 11900′. Here the snowpack was surprisingly dense and supportive. Largely a stack of crusts and slabs, with light faceting underneath and above the crusts. See photo. No test results to note but while hammering on an ECT after standard loading steps I was able to produce a propagating result below the 12/12 crust but my hand sure hurts.

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Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/23/2019
Name: Colorado BC AIARE L1
Subject: Weak Snowpack
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: 9,800-10,900
Weather: Overcast sky, calm winds, high temperature near freezing.

Snowpack: Shallow snowpack about 60-80cm deep. Soft weak snow surface, over a mid-pack slab, over more very weak faceted snow at the ground. No obvious signs of instability. Surface Hoar down in the valley, but not up higher in the bowl. The wind had previously loaded snow over the ridge and into the ENE bowl. While down-valley winds had cross-loaded a few terrains features a lower elevations. Wall to wall tracks in the terrain, also covering the steeper or loaded terrain features.

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/22/2019
Name: Ian Havlick

Subject: Mount Emmons-Redwell

Aspect: North, North East, South, South West, West, North West

Elevation: 9-12,000

Avalanches: Lots of evidence of old avalanches from the Dec 14-15th cycle in steep terrain all elevations. no recent activity.

Weather: Overcast skies, calm winds and mild temperatures at all elevations traveled. Base layer skinning up and down.

Snowpack: Targeted steeper, northerly terrain to check snow and go to the bullseye of the persistent slab structure. Structure is there, but did not find concerning, reactive or lively persistent slab structure 7 days after last load. The snowpack in the terrain traveled has faceted a ton (20cm) in surface, especially in below tree line northerly terrain where the snowpack is nearly bottomless facets, but not quite to the point of dry loose sluffing, even in terrain 40º steeper. Slabs above treeline still hold 1F hardness slabs above 2-3mm facets near the ground, and failed with moderate taps near the ground. Snow depths varied from ~100cm in Redwell Basin, to 60cm below treeline.

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Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/22/2019
Name: Eric Murrow

Subject: Snodgrass

Aspect: North East, East, South East, South

Elevation: 9500′-11100′
Avalanches: Several very small wet loose avalanches on south aspects near and above treeline. I would guess from yesterday, the first warming of sunny slopes since our last storm.

Weather: Mostly cloudy skies with mild temperatures and almost no wind while traveling below treeline.

Snowpack: Southerly slopes below treeline became moist in the top few cms by around noon.

Traveled across the top of snodgrass, peering down into northerly facing, below treeline terrain. Did not see any recent avalanche activity from our last storm. Snow surfaces on shaded terrain had patchy, small surface hoar. HS from 10500′ to 11100′ was around 85cm (see profile). Boot pen was occasionally to ground, but often the slab was strong enough to support my weight. Booted and stomped with skis above the top of several intact start zones without any results. Snowpack was quiet through this terrain with no signs of instability even with obvious strong over weak structure. Riding conditions were supportive and surfy.

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