The bush stopped my crack!
Date of Observation: 11/29/2022
Name: Evan Ross, Zach Kinler
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Washington Gulch, Anthracite Mesa. NE to SE. 9,800ft to 10,800ft.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: We saw a good number of small natural avalanches. D1’s on the aspects we traveled and at the below treeline elevation. Often easy to miss in both size and the poor light, and then ooo hey neighbor… Otherwise, the only other notable avalanches observed were a D1.5 and a D2 next to each other in Coney’s Bowl. They both had notable crowns in the 2ft range, but each ran out of accumulating mass and slope angle.
Weather: Accumulating snowfall and winds continued into the afternoon. The snowfall started to taper off in the early afternoon, while moderate winds remained. The obscured sky just started to break up towards the end of the day.
Snowpack: The subject line sums it up in a simple and frank way. On the NE to SE aspects we traveled the avalanche problem was reactive. We observed continued shooting crack throughout the tour. But those cracks most often wouldn’t propagate very far. The weak layer in this area was just too rough and interrupted by things like bushes and other ground clutter. We primarily traveled in an area with slope angles in the 35-degree or less range, had we been on steeper slopes we may have seen more movement as slabs may have overcome all the friction.
The weak layer is fairly simple. Large grained facets on the top of thick crusts on the SE end, to facets on thin crests around east, to just large and very weak facets on NE. We could dive in deeper but this is a quick summary. This particular weak layer just wasn’t that thick in this terrain. So it is often interrupted by vegetation and the ground. Near the rigeline and at our highest elevation traveled, the weak layer became thicker, more continuous, and lead to more notable avalanche results.
Storm totals on Washington Gultch Road were around 12″ in wind-sheltered areas. At first, this seemed low but made sense with the settlement. The storm snow was thick and slabby.
Photos:
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A rough overview of the small pockets that had realized in the Coney’s area.
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Typical shooting crack, but not propagating too far.
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Blowing
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Example of a small pocket BTL, NE aspect.
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ESE, shooting crack propagating on large facets above a 4cm crust.
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Small natural avalanche near the Washington Gulch Trailhead.
Avalanche Report #1
Estimated avalanche date: 11/29/2022
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: Washington Gulch (Elkton, Coneys, Meridian Lake)
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: NE
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R1 very small
Destructive Size: D2 – could bury, injure, or kill a person
Avg. crown height (inches): 24
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: D2, but a very small D2
Avalanche Report #2
Estimated avalanche date: 11/29/2022
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: Washington Gulch (Elkton, Coneys, Meridian Lake)
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: NE
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R1 very small
Destructive Size: D1.5
Avg. crown height (inches): 24
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments:
Avalanche Report #3
Estimated avalanche date: 11/29/2022
Number of Avalanches: 10
Location
Location: Washington Gulch (Elkton, Coneys, Meridian Lake)
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: BTL: Below Tree Line
Aspect: E
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R1 very small
Destructive Size: D1- Relatively harmless to people
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: Many D1 avalanches on East to NE aspects BTL. These were not significant avalanches, but show how reactive the current avalanche problem was.
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