Bollettino valanghe

Southeast Mountains

Crested Butte Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

Wed
Alta quota
1 · Debole
Limite del bosco
2 · Moderato
Sotto il limite
2 · Moderato
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Non aggiornato — questo bollettino è scaduto 6 years ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

Your primary concern will be triggering small "facet sluffs" on shaded terrain near and below treeline.  Steep terrain that sits closest to the inversion zone offers that biggest potential size avalanche and could entrain most of the meager snowpack.  A small, triggered loose avalanche can be dangerous if you get pushed into rocks, trees, or cliffs.  Alpine terrain offers a denser snowpack which reduces loose avalanche potential and provides better recreation opportunities.  You can identify terrain of concern by the full depth, weak snow that provides little to no support to skis, board, or foot.  Slopes less than 38 degrees are also less likely to produce triggered loose avalanches.

Problemi valanghivi

  • Loose Dry

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Likely
    Dimensione
    1

    On very steep terrain sheltered from the sun and wind, you can easily trigger sluffs where the snow surface is loose and cohesionless. These skier triggered loose avalanches from Climax Chutes on Thursday, 12/3, highlight the problem.   In the Southeast Mountains, facet sluffs have been gouging to the ground and are more challenging to manage than typical sluffing.  While most of these avalanches are small in size, they can easily cause harm because they will drag you over rocks, stumps, and bare ground.  In terrain with long, sustained runouts, slides will grow in size as they entrain more snow, and in rare cases,  may reach up to D2 in size.  

Avalanche Discussion

Avalanche conditions continue to change, but the pace of change has slowed over the past week as temperatures have moderated outside the inversion zone.  Snow surfaces remain weak across the Southeast Zone and Northwest Zone.  The exception to this rule would be terrain features that have been hit by the wind and developed windboards of varying hardness or southerly exposures.  Observations from the past week have shown terrain closer to town, like Happy Chutes and Climax Chutes, offer the potential for triggered, loose avalanches to gouge through the snowpack and entrain most of the available snow.  Avalanches that entrain the entire snowpack are the most concerning and can potentially drag you into ground hazards and cause harm.  This is why the Southeast Zone is rated at MODERATE.  You can identify the most concerning terrain by it the lack of support to foot, skis, or board.  As you travel further from town into the Northwest Zone, loose avalanche concerns are confined to the upper snowpack and are smaller in size.  Observations from Schuylkill Ridge, above Pittsburg, Purple Palace, and Axtel all indicate a less concerning and smaller problem, but one you should expect and manage if you find soft, cohesionless snow at the surface on shaded aspects.     Alpine terrain is the least likely to present a loose avalanche problem.  The snowpack is denser and winds have formed a patchwork of crusts at the surface.  The higher you travel the fewer avalanche concerns you are likely to find.  Unsettled weather is on the horizon for the upcoming weekend; many, if not most, snow surfaces will be intolerant of additional loading.  Now is a great time to travel through alpine terrain because once slabs form on top of the current snow surface, safer terrain options will be greatly reduced.

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