Front Range
AvalancheERIC TOLLUND · Jan 11, 2024 · Front Range
Weather
OVC, Lt. wind, Very light snow, S1-, Temps around 5°F. Periods of very flat light and poor visibility.
Snowpack
Very touchy snowpack as we moved through our zones. Shooting cracks were observed off the snowcat blade as well as off ski tips in many areas. Collapses were noted while travelling on skis, most notably through krumholz and flat depressions. Collapses were very subtle however and were not rumbling. "Trap doors" were felt while skiing where one would drop down through the upper layers, especially on the lower meadows.
Avalanche
SS-ASr-R1-D2-O. Skied slope and looked back to see debris pile to the skiers right of my tracks. I had not noticed the avalanche until this point and felt no collapse or heard anything while skiing down. The descent is on a very small and lower angle ridge just to the lookers right of where the avalanche occurred and around 30°. I investigated the avalanche and found the crown to be 56cm high with HS of 179cm. Elevation was ~12,100' and a 38° NE aspect. Slope angle at the crown was 37° and 30° at the toe. It appeared the avalanche slid on buried surface hoar that were noted to be around 8+mm in size. The avalanche was estimated to have been approx. 150' across and 200' long. There was also another avalanche approximately 100 yards across the slope that was presumed to have sympathetically released at the same time. This was estimated at 200' across and 400' long.