Avalanche

Cement Creek

Ben PritchettGunnison
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Observation photo 1Observation photo 2Observation photo 3Observation photo 4

Quick report

Cracking
Observed
Collapsing
Observed

We remote triggered two large Persistent Slab avalanches from gentle terrain roughly 600-900 feet away from the slopes that slid (west-facing, above treeline). We saw a couple fresh-looking Wet Slab avalanches that likely ran on Thursday, February 27th, on south-facing terrain along the ridge between Star and Taylor Peaks.

Weather

Hot, still air up high. Cooler air trapped in the valley bottoms.

Snowpack

We experienced rampant long-running cracks in every below-treeline and near-treeline meadow we crossed between Middle Cement Creek and Hunter Pass. We could see the cracks shoot out in front of our snowmobiles as we moved, generally in the 100-150 foot range. Digging into the snowpack confirmed that the cracks ran through the Valentine's Day slab into the facets below. An ECT in an area that just cracked produced no results. This uppermost slab was around a foot and a half deep in this zone. The slabs became stiffer, and the slab depth became much more variable as we moved above treeline.
Around mid-day sun-exposed snow surfaces in the alpine went from dry to wet over the course of one hour.

Avalanche

Size
D2 R2
Count
2
Aspect
S
Trigger
N
Elevation
12200 ft