Observations

Date of Observation: 12/27/2021
Name: Zach Guy and Eric Murrow

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Snowmobiled out Cement Creek to about 10,500 ft, near Hunter Hill trail.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Looks like one fresh persistent slab ran with yesterday’s winds. Spotted two other persistent slabs that ran during the Santa Slammer. All of these were on relatively small slopes so  D1.5 in size or less. Nothing significant has hit the road (yet), a few small debris piles in the narrows near the start of Upper Cement Trail.
Weather: Light to moderate snowfall. Light winds in valley bottom.
Snowpack: In windsheltered, below treeline terrain, persistent slab thickness ranged from 2 feet (near Reno Road split) to a little over 3 feet (near Hunter Hill). We observed several rumbling collapses in low-angle terrain. One occurred while I was standing outside of a pit, while Eric was boondocking over a 1/4 mile away. I think he triggered it. It was the loudest and most startling collapse I have ever heard…it sounded like a jet engine. I could hear it approaching from a distance across a wide open slope and watched the slope drop. I triggered another large collapse riding in sparse trees and saw all of the trees start shaking in front of me. Eric was a long distance away and he also heard “what sounded like an explosive detonate”. Stability tests produced hard, propagating results on the 12/6 interface. We rode on or near a handful of relatively small, steep test slopes without triggering anything. The 12/23 facets appear to be rounding and hardening, but the 12/6 depth hoar/ surface hoar falls out of the pit, it is still fist hard and cohesionless.

Photos:

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Date of Observation: 12/27/2021
Name: Travis Colbert

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Standard skin-track up the east side of Snodgrass from the main parking area.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Most of the steep NE terrain along the ridge from the weather station to the end of the road had run naturally. 80-100cm crowns and flagging high on the large spruce trees.
Weather: Light to moderate snowfall and strong SSW winds in the open terrain. Quiet in the trees with knee-deep, low density powder!
Snowpack:

Photos:

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Date of Observation: 12/27/2021
Name: Andrew Breibart

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Washington Gulch TH to SW Slopes less than 30 degrees.

Observed avalanche activity: No
Weather: Overcast skies with S-1 snow. Winds were variable with strong gusts.
Snowpack: No whomping or shooting cracks. Boot pen: 15 inches; Ski pen 5 inches. Skin track in unprotected terrain had filled back in.

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Date of Observation: 12/27/2021
Name: billy barr

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic
Weather: Sunday was cloudy and very windy all day long with off and on very light wind driven snowfall. This continued through most of the night with wind gradually slowing then letting up around 5 a.m. Currently obscured, but no wind with light snowfall. There was 4″ new snow and 0.37″ water- lighter density since picking up a few hours ago. Snowpack is at 40″. High temperature was 25F and currently the morning low of 13F.

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Date of Observation: 12/26/2021
Name: Than Acuff

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Kept it in the trees on NE aspect on western end of SE zone.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Nothing new from ones already documented.
Weather: Blowy and snowy. Quite pleasant in the trees though except the one tree bomb on my melon.
Snowpack: Dense but fun and sprongy skiing in terrain no steeper than 30-degrees. Snow was fairly well protected in the trees only densified (is that even a word? It is now) by the wind, warm temps and littered with pine needles. Ski pen 8-10″. Did skin up above road on SW aspect across small, steeper pitch. Ski pen much deeper and got a sizable collapse but did not see any shooting cracks in the ground blizzard.

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Date of Observation: 12/26/2021

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Snodgrass 11k

Observed avalanche activity: No
Snowpack: Snodgrass N 11k snowpit. HS 125, CT 9 95 cm up, CT 15 20 cm up, ECTN despite whaling.

Photos:

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Date of Observation: 12/26/2021
Name: Jeff Banks

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Avoided the Critical Danger Zones from the Bulletin by skiing SW Aspect BTL

Observed avalanche activity: No
Snowpack: BTL SW Aspect, No Signs of Instability on slopes <30º

A little time on Flats & Shady aspects with 3 whumpfs

Impressive wind transport:
Wind Tunnel Effect at Valley Bottom from the North
Saw our tracks from 2 weeks ago emerge at ridgeline after this storm’s snow was ripped away from the West

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In this video, CBAC highlights why avalanche conditions are bad and how to reduce your risk. Help us spread the word to visitors and locals alike during this holiday week.

Date of Observation: 12/25/2021
Name: steve banks

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Up Red Lady skin Track, down the Glades

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Adding to Evan’s observation….I kicked a cornice from the ridge line at 11,600 and knocked off a loveseat sized chunk. This did some weird propagation dance to the Southeast (down ridge) then up to the steeper wind loaded upper road cut area. Ran surprisingly far down into the lower benches with a large powder cloud.

Noted several very large avalanches on Axtel as Evan mentioned. Pics aren’t great, but added them below. Looks Like 4th and 5th bowls went big. Debris below 3rd bowl looks like Wang Chung flushed.

Also had a mega roofalanche in town.

Weather: S1 from 10 am till noonish with light SW winds. Then dramatic clearing and notable warm up with less wind after noon.

Snowpack: The new midpack is rather supportive with the most recent, drier snow on top making for good riding. Ski pen off the skin track was about boot top. Below 10,800 on a South facing slope the sun was warming the surface noticeably.

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Date of Observation: 12/26/2021
Name: billy barr

Zone: Southeast Mountains

Weather: Really little to report. The wind stopped mid day Saturday and there was gradual clearing and it dropped to 2ºF during the night before clouds moved back in and is at 24F now. There was scattered light snow with 1″ new and water of 0.11″. The wind started back around 3 a.m. and has not let up. A nasty day ahead. Snowpack sits at 39½” and sky is obscured and windy 8-15 SW gusts to 30 with a very light to no snowfall. –This winter is still 23% below average on snowfall but, get this, just 1% below in water content, which shows how dense these storms have been.

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