2008-2009 Colorado Snowpack Observations

[Sir Jongalot]

That was my jongitude for failing to mention for those that don't know... Kitchen Wall is on an East aspect, I think around 12,200 or so. It's above the lake on the south side of Loveland pass.

Suttle diference, but it's NE aspect. (I know cause I build a big kicker there when there's a lot of snow and wind)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lovela...38624&t=p&z=15

How did you learn to hike straight under a hangfire avy with all your buds? Because thats so rad!!!

[marshalolson]

Marshal for skiing a nearly identical line AFTER this one slid. Or did he trigger this one too?

strangely, the line i skied was not identical at all, or really even similar in any way.

though it was similar aspect and elevation, my line was much more sheltered from wind loading (i saw effectively no signs of wind loading at all), had a far more uniform snowpack (ie. rather solid from top to bottom, other than 4-5" of buff on the top), and there was no slab or significant layering.

its funny how things like TOPOGRAPHY actually factor into the equation.

thanks for playing though.

[Sir Jongalot]

the line i skied was not identical at all, or really even similar in any way... though it was similar aspect and elevation

Huh? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization

my line was much more sheltered from wind loading (i saw effectively no signs of wind loading at all), had a far more uniform snowpack (ie. rather solid from top to bottom, other than 4-5" of buff on the top), and there was no slab or significant layering.

Rough translation: 'it didn't slide so it was safer'

But hey I'm the one who builds kickers over there all winter.

[marshalolson]

Huh? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization

"the means of transition from a traditional society into a rationalized one" - wiki

DOES NOT COMPUTE!!!

[smitchell333]

Loveland Pass 11/25

Skied south/southeast aspect early afternoon which had a pretty stout sun crust that hadn't softened, other than the few shots sheltered from the sun which were soft. One shot behind a cliff with a easterly aspect, 40 deg, and shady was 18" powder on top of well developed depth hoar of 6-8".

North/NE aspects mid afternoon. Some soft snow where not hammered by the wind or other skiers.

Going to be interesting when we get substantial snow.
The sun crusts are slippery - a lot will depend there on if the new snow comes in wet or dry.

Anything shady has some significant depth hoar developed at the bottom so we'll likely have the typical land mine effect, especially when we get wind slab development.

[encore]

Dug a pit at about 12200 ft on an east aspect. Snowpack was bomber and surpising much deeper than we expected. We didn't make it to the ridge line though due to inclement weather. It was puking snow for a while around 1:30 pm.


Our intended line:

[montanaskier]

http://avalanche.state.co.us/pub_bc_avo.php?zone_id=1

[telelebowski]

From A-Basin yesterday occasional glimpses of a slide looker's right of The Professor, SE aspect above tree line that ran to the ground. Two tracks down the middle of Professor that did not appear to be the trigger, too difficult with the swirling clouds to see if there was a trigger, or if it was part of avy control the days prior.

[HikeforTurns]

Dry Gulch, sunlight knob mentioned in Hacksaw's post:



triggered from the second track from the right with a rather hard turn (12/6):







deposition zone about 1.5 meters at its deepest:




pretty wind affected since friday

[snoweater]

Any idea of the angle of that, Hikefor? barely looks 25*!!!!

[HikeforTurns]

unfortunately i didnt get the slope angle, but the pics are deceiving, probably closer to 38 id guess

[smitchell333]

Whummppffff,wmmppffff, wmmmpffff

is what I got east facing trees - about the same altitude as the above.

Variability is the key word. Some places seem stable, but others where old snow turned to hoar are bad.

[Rontele]

similar findings to both sean and HFT at Dry Gulch Saturday. Dug a pit on S/SE aspect to find about 3 feet total depth. Odd layer about halfway down the pack, but bonding between the two layers was good.

Very wind affected up high and whoomping around trees and or willows where facet growth is more likely.

[pechelman]

^ i thought that odd layer was 1 of the 2 rain events we've had?

similar findings as rontele, but that should be expected, since we were in the same party that day

[smitchell333]

From: http://avalanche.state.co.us/pub_bc_avo.php?zone_id=1

Saturday Winds: 28-38 G80s


Saturday Night Winds: 30-40 G90

Gusts into the 80s and 90s??

Things are going to be interesting.

[montanaskier]

obviously a scary pack right now. I think as usual it depends on aspect and location. Some areas have looked pretty stable then the inbounds craziness today. Lots to think about.

[smitchell333]

Berthoud Pass 12/14

Hit multiple Floral area trees and HHA/ NW facing trees. Skiing was excellent, although some wood and a couple rocks are still out there menacing.

Definite instability where steep and open and windloading. The bottom layer is totally shit in most places meaning there is the potential for to the ground slides, esp where there has been little or no other skier traffic in the earlier storms. The top layer was pretty fluffy below treeline, but above or in cross loading gullies it was very cracky with the cold temps.

I saw lots of cracking and minor sliding/sluffing in the most aggressive run we took, which was trees just skiers left of Hanging Meadow.

Take care, its no time to be going big.

[Rontele]

Berthoud Pass 12/14

Hit multiple Floral area trees and HHA/ NW facing trees. Skiing was excellent, although some wood and a couple rocks are still out there menacing.

Definite instability where steep and open and windloading. The bottom layer is totally shit in most places meaning there is the potential for to the ground slides, esp where there has been little or no other skier traffic in the earlier storms. The top layer was pretty fluffy below treeline, but above or in cross loading gullies it was very cracky with the cold temps.

I saw lots of cracking and minor sliding/sluffing in the most aggressive run we took, which was trees just skiers left of Hanging Meadow.

Take care, its no time to be going big.

Berthoud today and nothing has changed though the wind slab has grown a bit. We are a big storm from a vicious avy cycle. The bottom 2/3ds of our snowpack is absolute junk.

[goldenboy]

Didn't know Mike well, but we'd definitely chat if we ran into each other on the street.
Stay Safe out there people.
From the CB News:

A search and rescue operation is ongoing to locate Crested Butte resident Michael Bowen, who was last seen on Wednesday, December 17. Bowen is believed to have been the victim of an avalanche while skiing near the Climax Chutes on Mt. Emmons.

Search and rescue officials say if the man is not found today, Friday, his body may not be recovered until the spring.
Crested Butte Search and Rescue public information officer Nicholas Kempin says Bowen went skiing in the Climax / Happy Chutes area just north of Mt. Emmons on Wednesday, December 17.
Search and rescue received the call on Thursday morning at 7:45 when Bowen’s friends reported him missing.
Kempin says at least 12 people were involved in a search operation on Thursday and they found some clues as to Bowen’s whereabouts.
“We did as best we could, given the visibility yesterday. It was snowing pretty hard,” Kempin says.
In addition to the poor visibility, the terrain was also unsafe due to high avalanche danger. “We checked out what we could safely. There was obviously a lot of slide activity,” Kempin says. “We could really only check things safely from above and below.”
Kempin says a search team was sent up on the ridge above Climax Chutes to look for clues, and by dusk they had located what is believed to be Bowen’s tracks. “We had a rough idea where we thought he came down,” Kempin says.
Kempin says the search and rescue team also identified a recent avalanche slide that Bowen may have been caught in, but there was not a way to confirm with the inclement weather and encroaching darkness.
On Friday he said searchers were back investigating the slide path, by probing and systematically searching the debris.
According to interviews with Bowen’s friends, Kempin says he was not wearing an avalanche beacon, but may have been wearing a new Helly Hansen jacket that contains a Recco rescue capsule. The Recco system is not as effective as wearing a beacon, but can still assist rescuers in locating an avalanche victim.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort Ski Patrol has a Recco Receiver, which transmits a signal that “reflects” off of the capsules for avalanche rescue operations.
Kempin says Ski Patrol assisted in the search on Friday, as well as specially trained avalanche rescue dogs.
As of Friday afternoon Kempin said there was still no sign of the victim.
Kempin says the man is presumed deceased at this point and searchers are treating the operation as a recovery. However, Kempin says there is always hope. “In search and rescue we call it ‘the rest of the world’. We think someone is in a certain spot, but there’s always a chance that person is somewhere else.”
But in this case Kempin says it’s unlikely Bowen is missing in another location, particularly because his bike was discovered at Peanut Lake.
With more bad weather predicted Friday night and Saturday, Kempin says Friday’s operation could be the last chance for recovery this winter. “I imagine with the clear day we have and this weather window, if he’s not found today that could be it…we’re really hoping we find him today,” Kempin says.
The Crested Butte Avalanche Center was reporting high and considerable danger in the backcountry on Friday. Heavy snowfall and strong winds mid-week increased the avalanche danger after a string of clear, cold days.
According to a website update from forecaster Steve Banks, “We are still concerned with avalanches being triggered near the ground on weak, faceted snow. This snowpack structure has been responsible for many avalanches during the preceding week, and will remain a problem for most of the winter.”
“Now is not the time for powder fever and to be pushing it in the backcountry. Any slope steeper than 30 degrees should be treated as unstable right now, and avoided. Be also aware of the potential for natural avalanches to release on slopes near you.”
No further information on the search and rescue was available at press time. The Crested Butte News will be following up on the situation in the December 25 issue.

[goldenboy]

From the CB Avalanche center today 12/21:

The body of Mike Bowen was found yesterday at the bottom of the Happy Chutes in a large pile of debris just up from the valley floor. After finding a hat and pole above his exact location was pinpointed by a dog. He was found 4 feet under the debris without his snowboard or backpack. We will post a more detailed accident investigation soon.


At least they found his body so his friends and family don't have to know he's out there all winter. Sad. RIP

[jon turner]

Lots of cracking and whoomfing (sp?) today on N and W facing slopes below treeline near Leadville. It was pretty nerve-racking a couple times. There's about 3" of sugar right on the ground with 2-3 feet of soft snow on top. The top does not seem to be consolidating well either - perhaps it's too cold, we were on N slopes as well. we didn't see anything really propagate, but it was falling apart easily. Be careful out there and stay away from high consequence slopes. The pack is also pretty thin in places, especially up here where we haven't been hit by the last few storms as bad (unfortunately), so watch out for rocks and stumps.

[Micol]

jt,
where were you on that last report?

[jon turner]

cal gulch

[Micol]

thanks
keep posting , im reading and it helps since im in your backyard. i will do the same. been keeping it inbounds lately with the snowpack and all. heck im even taking safety gear inbounds after the vail slides

[teleyakco]

I hate to get off the subject,but TeleMike,are you from Bama?I live in WP/Fraser ,and have a nice crew of Bama folks up here.Let's try to get out some time.