Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheMax Strotbeck Amanda Loughlin · Jan 13, 2025 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
Temps were -15 in the Yampa Valley and around 0 where we parked at Muddy Pass. The temperature likely never climbed above the low-teens during our tour. Skies started broken, became overcast and accompanied by very light snowfall that led to less than 1cm of accumulation, and then became broken again. Winds were light, shifting from southeast at Muddy Pass but more northwest towards the summit. We experienced light blowing snow near ridgeline.
Snowpack
We found the height of snow to be between 115-150cm on the east and northeast aspects we observed. The exception was in isolated terrain near ridgeline, where prior wind had stripped snow. Here we found a thin (35cm) four-finger to one-finger hard slab atop weak facets and depth hoar. Otherwise, in more sheltered terrain, the slab above the December drought layer was 80cm or more, and averaged medium hardness. As we traveled our skis penetrated through the new snow, about 20cm, and when stepping out of our skis we sank about 40cm in our boots, through the snow that fell from 1/4- 1/6. Within the storm snow that fell between 12/25-30, we found a thin (1mm) crust (possibly a mist crust) that has been reported elsewhere in the Park Range. We found it buried 50cm down in one snow pit, and while we saw a fracture occur here in an extended column test we did not see propagation. We felt one collapse during our travels in a willowy area with a shallower snowpack.
Avalanche
We saw two avalanches that ran below the ridgeline of Baker Mountain (one is pictured below). It is hard to know when the pictured avalanche ran. The smaller avalanche not pictured had a more distinct crown and flanks, leading us to suspect it ran during or after the 1/11-12 storm.