Front Range

Avalanche

Rob Coppolillo · May 13, 2014 · Front Range

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Weather

Bluebird with intense solar, calm to light winds out of N/NE, with increasing clouds towards 13:00.

Snowpack

Relatively dry storm snow down to warm, well-bonded storm-old snow interface. Intense solar inputs thru morning and snow surface moistening up to 12,100 feet at Corral Couloir entrance (S aspect). Storm snow settling rapidly and just starting to form cohesive slab towards 12:00. North aspects (we poked over towards N/NE shots into Odessa Gorge/Ptarmigan while on Flattop) were hanging on and ski quality probably better there. By 13:00, during our exit, ski quality diminishing with solar affects. Grabby surface snow and set up to form breakable/zipper crust with building clouds.

Avalanche

Numerous wet loose on SW/S/SE/E aspects. Dragontail, Dead Elk, and small slopes adjacent to Dragontail apron below Hallet had all run naturally. We triggered a wet loose beside rocks within Corral Couloir, 11,900 approx, S facing, and it entrained loose surface snow, traveled 300 feet down couloir, D1.5. Widespread wet cycle on E, SE, S, SW aspects by 13:00 with solar inputs, though nothing we observed had stepped down into deeper layers.