Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/22/2019
Name: Emma Vosburg

Subject: Coneys

Aspect: East

Elevation: 10,900

Weather: 18 and sunny no wind

Snowpack: Dug a pit at the top of coneys. Did an extended column test and no fractures at all. Snow was soft and no crust developed yet

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/20/2019
Name: TS

Subject: Anthracite Mesa Avalanche

Aspect: North East

Elevation: 11,000
Avalanches:

“Don’t think this has been reported and I think it may have happened yesterday afternoon as I was in the area until about 230 and feel like I would have noticed it. Anthracite mesa.”

Confirmed with my ski partner yesterday that it was not there when we left the area at around 230 and I was the first one at the trailhead today. Thanks”

(CBAC Edit: This avalanche was previously observed on 12/18 and estimated to have run naturally towards the end of the last natural avalanche cycle.)

Photos:

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 12/16/2019
Name: Kirk

Subject: RLG

Aspect: South West

Elevation: 12000 something
Avalanches:

no recent signs

Weather: Clear cold with light wind from west Snowpack: Cold nights are keeping it holding in there although some aspects are starting to crust.

The skin track was awesome, there is like 14 different ways to get to the top now ! but make sure you choose wisely as someone maybe hosing you.

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/20/2019
Name: Evan Ross & Zack Kinler
Subject: Quiet And A Faceting Snowpack
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 9,000ft to 11,500ft
Snowpack: Traveling through NE terrain showed no obvious signs to instability. We traveled on slopes in the mid to upper 30 degree range. It’s more difficult to find a pristine snowpack given all the natural avalanche events this year on NE slopes. So the majority of the time we were traveling on a slope that had avalanched at some point earlier this season. Even in some steep old growth forest.

The upper snowpack is loosing strength with the current cold and dry weather. A 1F slab still covered some mid-pack SH in one test profile. This interface was identifiable in the wall of the snow-pit, but difficult to get results on. Another test profile was dug below the crown of an avalanche that ran in early December. The HS here was about half 60cm, of the more average 120-130cm snowpack in that area. No SH was found in that 60cm of snow, and the slab over what was left of the facets at the ground was a poor example of strong over weak. So, also breaking down and faceting as a whole.

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 12/18/2019
Name: Kirk

Subject: I think I froze My face

Aspect: South East

Elevation: 11715

Weather: I would bet Santa Claus it was colder in CB than the North Pole this morning at the trailhead. It warmed up to a balmy 17.5 degrees by noon. Winds from West 5mph starting to cloud up by 11am

Snowpack: No signs of instability on skin track. A supportive snowpack with 8″ of condensed snow with a touch of a wind on top.

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 12/18/2019
Name: MR

Avalanches:

Crowns galore throughout the playground area off East Ohio peak behind the Anthracites, north facing, estimate around 11,200-11,400, assume to be from the 12/14 or 12/16 avalanche cycle. Also included is a photo of the crown of the big chute slide already reported, and slides on Axtell 4th bowl

Photos:

Date of Observation: 12/17/2019
Name: Evan Ross
Subject: Few More Avalanche Photos and Updates

Avalanches: A natural avalanche was reported on Whetstone Mountains. It released in a deeply drifted east aspect and ran during the morning of 12/17.
A couple large natural avalanche were confirmed to have run in the Anthracites around Monday 12/16. These are estimated to have released on SH in the middle of the snowpack.
A few other pictures are attached from avalanches that released around the 12/14 cycle.

Weather: Clear sky and warmer temps up out of the inversions. Winds at upper elevations were still drifting some snow at times, otherwise calm at lower elevations.

Snowpack: Traveling around the Kebler Pass area yesterday. The snow surfaces in the alpine have really been worked over by winds in the last few days. lots of drifting and wind textured snow surfaces. Traveled on a number of below treeline slopes facing east to south with no signs to instability, and a few protected northerly slopes with the same result. HS averaged in the 70 to 90cm range.

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 12/16/2019
Name: Evan Ross & Zach Kinler
Subject: Remotely Triggered Avalanche, Wolverine Basin
Aspect: North, North East, North West
Elevation: 8,900-10,200

Avalanches: 2 remotely triggered D1.5 Persistent Slabs failing on 3 to 4mm depth hoar near the ground. One on a NW aspect at 10,200ft and one on a N aspect at 9,700ft. More info in Snowpack Section.

Weather: Mostly Cloudy. Calm Wind. Dropping temps in the afternoon.

Snowpack: HS on this tour was in the 60 to 85cm range. The slab over the mid-pack surface hoar was to thin and soft. The whole snowpack over the depth hoar on the ground was the layer of concern. We found ourselves having to put some extra effort into getting a collapse. Though, when we could get a collapse it was multi-slope scale. Traveling hundreds of feet and changes aspects. This was a classic Persistent Slab Setup. Few if any obvious signs to instability, until boom, a potential game over result. We were not pushing any steep terrain, we mostly saw shooting cracks on slopes near and below 30 degrees. Still these collapses remotely triggered two steeper pockets.

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 12/16/2019
Name:
Subject: Anthracites Avalanche Ob
Aspect: North East
Elevation: 10,600 ft
Avalanches: SS-ASc-R2-D2-O
We were moving on to the top of the slope with the intention of digging a test profile. I jumped up and down several times with no result and decided to jump on one foot to punch deeper into the pack and the failure propagated with quite a bit of energy. 65cm crown, ~120 ft wide. Failed on clearly visible SH layer @70cm. See attached profile dug at crown.

Photos:

Location: Cement Creek Area
Date of Observation: 12/14/2019
Name: Ian Havlick
Subject: Reno Ridge/Cement Obs
Aspect: South West, West, North West
Elevation: 9000-11,200

Avalanches: no avalanches observed due to visibility

Weather: Lull in morning turned to redeveloping snow and wind around 1100. strong wind transport, temperatures in mid 20s

Snowpack: Snow accumulations 20″+ doubling snowpack. soft and unconsolidated, most areas lacking a distinct slab in terrain traveled. Total height of snow ranged from 60-100cm in terrain traveled. wind drifts 4-6ft deep, 1F hardness near treeline and more exposed areas