SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: Sadly the snowpack continues to break down. Snow still supporting the weight of a skier but skiing facets seems to be the current trend. No signs of instability today but could still see old slides and old tracks.…

WEATHER: Light down valley winds with a couple stronger gusts in the afternoon.  Overcast sky.

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: Short tour near the trailhead and near Long Lake. HS 60-80cm and generally weak on NE aspects. Persistent Slab structure was mostly faceted out with only a little midpack slab left in places. Maybe 1 out of 10 pits produced a result in CT tests. Could still find buried SH down 10cm on most NE slopes. Boot pen to the ground.…

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date: 1/19/2015

Wolverine Basin: No signs of instability ECTX on crown line profile from early January human triggered slide at 10,500ft, NE aspect. ECTX on N facing slope at 33º @ 9700 Sluffs on NE aspects near 10,200ft. Widespread buried SH.

Anthracite Mesa: One large collapse on flat meadow at 9500′, producing cracks over 50′ away. Another moderate collapse with 25′ of cracking on “Coney’s” ridgeline, NW facing slope near 11k. Shallow (2-10″) 1F-P windslab produced cracking and stubborn movement.
Pits on SE, SW, N, NE with average HS between 40-120cm. No significant results in BTL pits on SW, SE, N. Intense Solar. Widespread Buried SH 10-20 deep in all areas. ENE facing pit, HS 120cm, 4F-1F hardness slab, F-Hard weak layer 2-3mm FC, 26º slope at 11k.
ECTP19 SC @ 55cm. PSTend 42/100 @ 20141213.

Avalanches: Fresh dry loose avalanches in Climax Chutes (farthest lookers right, and other smaller paths). One Wet loose, south aspect, D1 long running…

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: I am fascinated by this snowpack at the moment.  Clearly it is faceting quickly.  Average HS was 100cm and ski pen while skinning was anywhere from 15cm to 50cm+.  Ski pen while descending was more like 20cm through dry, fast facets.  We had significant signs of instability on all three runs.  Whumpfing and collapsing on everything from the flats to 35º slopes.  I made a big, forceful turn on a convex rollover and we got a big whumpf, but nothing moved.  Is the slab faceting and loosing cohesion, but the buried surface hoar still reacts?  After guiding at tree line and below tree line for eight out of the past ten days, I have seen the signs of instability increase each day.  Yet I feel like it would be really difficult to trigger a slide.  (This says nothing of larger, alpine features.  I have no observations.)…

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: Traveled primarily in low angle terrain in valley bottom.  Noticed large collapses, and cracks traveling upwards of 100ft, primarily in areas that were more north facing and wind affected.  Although a ECT on E aspect showed no result, and in this particular spot the midpack seemed to be interfacing well with the December 13th layer.  Thin crust found on more southerly and steeper aspects.  Intact buried surface hoar found near the surface on all aspects.  On northern aspects the midpack had deteriorated to points where ski penetration was over 75% of the snowpack. Small natural avalanche seen on S, SE aspect below the Gothic Spoon.…

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: Travel on N and NW aspects near and below tree line on slopes around 35* produced lots of widespread collapsing and cracking. Snow profiles showed an HS of 107 cm in valley floor and 150cm at 11,000′. Snowpack structure was 30-60 cms of soft snow (F & 4F) overlying a 20-40 cm thick 1F hard persistent slab over depth hoar. Test results produced repeatable moderate CT failures with sudden collapse failure character at the Dec 13 interface 1-1.5 M deep and again at the ground level. (See pic below).  Other skiers in the zone reported skier triggering a small slab on a steep convex roll on N facing terrain about 60cms deep size D1-…

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: HS 40cm – 100cm, depending on aspect and elevation.  Surface mostly surface facets at all elevations and aspects.  Ski pen 10cm; but would go to 50 cm (full depth) in shallow areas around aspen trees.  Multiple signs of instabilities – large whumpfing and shooting cracks – all in shallow areas, mostly on west aspects.  It feels to me like the slab is deteriorating, but this is making it easier to effect the weak layer.  But nothing really happens because the slab is barely hanging on.  This is just a “feeling” – not much science behind it.…

WEATHER: Clear. cold at TH in am (5F), warm in sun. No wind until about 1030 am. Light but steady and cold out of North.

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: About 10-15cm new snow from yesterday. very light and low density and no wind transport was obvious. resting on stout crusts on southerly slopes 30* or steeper, but bonding seems to be good. Surface storm snow thickening and heating up on steep south slopes by mid-day. 2 small but noticeable collapses felt while traveling on a shallow snowpack zone on ridgecrest near treeline. No other instabilities seen while traveling on slopes >35*.…

WEATHER: Overcast through most of day. Snowing S1 with periods of S3. Calm winds.

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: 20cm storm snow with no wind. Preserved surface hoar layer found below the new snow but finding it non-reactive to quick informal stability tests. An instability was found in the top 5-10cm of the snowpack at what was seeming to be a slight density change in the recent storm snow, as it got heavier with rising daytime temps during the storm today. Minimal problem now…worth re-visiting at it gets buried deeper. Triggered 2 small (D1) loose snow slides on steep low elevation terrain features with convex rollovers, as expected. No other instabilities seen.…