Bollettino valanghe

Gunnison

Crested Butte Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

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Alta quota
2 · Moderato
Limite del bosco
2 · Moderato
Sotto il limite
2 · Moderato
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Non aggiornato — questo bollettino è scaduto 2 years ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

You can trigger a large avalanche that breaks up to several feet thick in some steep terrain features, as demonstrated by this human triggered avalanche yesterday in the Anthracites and several reports of collapsing snowpack around the forecast area.  Carefully consider terrain consequences and snowpack structure before traveling on or near slopes steeper than 30 degrees.   Smaller, simpler terrain or riding on lower elevation southerly aspects is the most reliable strategy for managing today's avalanche concerns.   Severe cold will complicate any accidents or rescues today.  

Problemi valanghivi

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1.5–2.5

    Slabs up to several feet thick can be triggered where they formed over well-developed facets and collapsible crusts on west, north, and east aspects. Additionally, heavily wind-loaded slabs can be triggered above buried crusts on high-elevation, southerly aspects.  Slab behavior is challenging with variable and deceptive feedback, remote triggering potential, and wide propagation across terrain features.  Sheltered slopes with snow depths around 80 to 120 cm and thin areas in previously wind-drifted terrain appear to be the most problematic. You can reliably avoid the problem on slope angles less than 30 degrees without steeper slopes above you, and most mid to low-elevation southerly aspects lack the problem.  

    Our most recent persistent slab in the Anthracites appears to be triggered by a skier or rider on 1/18/2025.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1–1.5

    Manage for shallow instabilities in the new snow.  These will most commonly be thin, soft slabs of wind-drifted snow at higher elevations and loose avalanches in wind-protected or lower elevations.  New snow instabilities can entrain older, weak snow below and grow in size on the north half of the compass.  Use small, steep test slopes to gather feedback on the problem.  Look for cracking, fresh drifts, or point-release avalanches breaking at the tips of your skis or machine to identify the problems.  

    An example of a shallow storm instability that entrained older, weaker snow on a northerly aspect of Mt. Axtell. 

Avalanche Discussion

Lots of great observations yesterday highlight our variable and challenging snowpack situation.  Pits on Coney's show a deep and relatively strong-looking snowpack on one slope, while a couple of big collapses were reported from another nearby slope.  We've noted ski tracks on numerous steep slopes in the Anthracites over the past week, yet someone crossed an unstable slope in East Bowl.   Our fieldwork in Axtell noted lingering persistent slab structures on some terrain features, while adjacent features lacked a slab, producing sluffs gouging to the ground in very steep terrain.  In short, some slopes are deep and relatively strong, others have lost their slab to wind erosion, faceting, or recent avalanche activity, while others remain problematic.  If you don't want to freeze your a** off today making careful snowpack assessments burdened by uncertainty, make a game plan before you leave the house that involves simpler and less consequential terrain.  

Observers yesterday also reported some small wind slabs and sluffing in the new snow.  Cold weather limits snow settlement and will preserve the threat of these surface instabilities again today, which we've bundled into a storm snow problem for simplicity.  These instabilities will be relatively easy to recognize, but could grow larger than you might expect in some terrain where the underlying snowpack is weak and cohesionless. This is most common on repeat offender slopes that have avalanched multiple times this season.  This video from 2nd Bowl in Axtell is a good example; this slope slab avalanched around Thanksgiving and again around New Years, leaving a shallow, weak snowpack in its wake.  

Regioni coperte