Bollettino valanghe

Gunnison

Crested Butte Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

Wed
Alta quota
1 · Debole
Limite del bosco
1 · Debole
Sotto il limite
1 · Debole
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Non aggiornato — questo bollettino è scaduto 5 years ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

Small, human-triggered loose snow avalanches have become common on wind-sheltered, northerly-facing slopes.  Anticipate triggering a loose snow avalanche if you are traveling on slopes steeper than about 38 degrees with a soft, cohesionless surface.  Loose avalanches have remained small in size but can be hazardous if you are pushed into a terrain trap.  Use defensive riding techniques in steep terrain or choose lower-angled slopes to avoid the problem.

Problemi valanghivi

  • Loose Dry

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

    Dry loose avalanches (sluffs) are the most problematic on the north half of the compass, especially in wind-sheltered terrain at near and below treeline elevations.  Where the upper snowpack is weak and cohesionless, you can easily trigger small sluffs on slopes steeper than about 38 degrees. Ski cuts, moving across the fall-line while descending, or choosing lower-angled slopes are effective techniques to manage this problem. These small avalanches will continue to accumulate mass in big terrain with sustained steep slope angles. Use caution above terrain traps where a small avalanche can pile more deeply, or above trees and cliffs where you could be pushed into these more hazardous terrain features. 

    A great example of sluff management in terrain where sluffs could be more problematic because they get funneled down a gulley.  

Avalanche Discussion

Loose snow avalanches remain your primary problem to manage.  The dry month of January, coupled with seasonally cold temperatures, has promoted a faceting regime in the snowpack.  Faceting has slowly weakened the snow surfaces allowing up to 10 inches of cohesionless snow to develop on slopes facing the north half of the compass.  Loose Dry avalanches are fairly predictable in release and can be managed through defensive riding techniques like ski cuts and descending across the fall-line, or choosing slopes less than 35 degrees to avoid the problem.  Use increased caution while traveling above terrain traps like cliffs, trees, or gullies.  Take a look through the media gallery below to better understand the potential size and nature of loose avalanches.

Reports continue to trickle in of very small triggered avalanches on drifted alpine terrain over the past week.  All have been very small in nature and would only pose a threat in extreme terrain or above terrain traps.  If you are venturing into wind-affected alpine terrain continue to look for and identify areas of drifted snow, so you are not caught off-guard by a very small, slab avalanche.  You can simply steer around small pockets of drifted snow to avoid the problem.

Looking forward, the current snow forecast for Tuesday evening and Wednesday is trending downward.  The incoming storm is looking more like an upslope event for areas along and east of the Continental Divide.  Given the weak nature of snow surfaces on west through north through east slopes, even modest storm totals around 6 inches or greater may cause the danger rating to rise to MODERATE and require you to change travel habits and terrain choices of recent weeks.

Regioni coperte