Front Range
AvalancheAnonymous · Apr 25, 2020 · Front Range
Weather
Alternating snowfall and direct sunlight from 10am through 1:30pm around 11000.' Occasional gusts, perhaps up to 15mph. Mostly sunny with very light wind from 1:30pm to 3pm at the same elevation.
Snowpack
About 10" of new snow on top of a hard crust. New snow was moderately dense and showed evidence of drifting on larger slopes and near terrain features and ridges. Snow was dry in the morning and became progressively wetter and heavier in the afternoon. Rollerballing began around 1:30pm.
Avalanche
I spotted four skiier-triggered avalanches between 11800' and 12200' on NNE aspects. All avalanches ran between 11am and 2pm on Friday 4/24 and appeared to only break at the interface between the new storm snow and the underlying crust. Overnight wind drifting appears to have played a role, as the snow had a rippled, pillowy texture and all slides broke on the lee-side of prominent terrain features. All slides also fractured in thinner areas adjacent to rocks. While three of the four avalanches were small enough as to not pose much threat to backcountry travelers, one avalanche caught and carried a skier for approx. 300.' The avalanche broke primarily beneath the skier who appeared to stay on top of the slide until they were carried out of sight. A celebratory shout ~15 seconds later suggested that the skier was not buried, and the attached photo shows that the skier was able to ski out.