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.