Quick report
- Collapsing
- widespread
I toured up Colorado Gulch and gained the ridge that runs aprox N-S and headed up the ridge to gain North facing bowls. Skinning along the ridge top I saw significant wind loading on the Easterly aspects. All along the ridge top I experienced widespread "whomping" of the snow pack. There is a point where most people cut under the first unnamed peak to gain the top of the first bowl. It was white out conditions and I could not see the bowls or the face I planned to skin across to gain the bowl. So, I kept on the ridge and went over the top to avoid avi exposure. My first extended column test was done about 80 feet from the top of the ridge in a safe location. I observed several natural slides on the East facing aspects of the ridge that the old road climbs up and over. These appeared to be a result of wind loading. And, large enough to carry a full grown person down slope. I noticed over similar slides, further along the ridge in the main bowls. These looked to be at least a week old with the recent snow covering the debris. The older ones looked significant in size traveling a few hundred feet into the aspens at the bottom of the the center bowl.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- moderate
Morning: 8am to 12pm - white-out conditions, then partly cloudy.
Snowpack
Extended Col Test: 91cm of snow, ECT: 19, propagated through the column, North aspect. At about 80 cm I found a rain layer. Above the rail layer I found about 40 cm of wind packed snow. Top 10 cm fists, then quickly turned firm 3 then 2 fingers. The rain layer was about an inch of unconsolidated sugary snow. Which is where the snowpack failed. I did not ski this bowl.