Front Range
AvalancheBryce Berchenbriter · Dec 31, 2024 · Front Range
Weather
Partly cloudy, light winds with gusts likely reaching 30mph.
Snowpack
Snowpack was producing generalized whumphing with some larger collapses. In sheltered areas approaching up to about 30 degrees the PS problem was active but did not seem to have enough energy to overcome bed surface friction. Wind appears to have formed slabs substantial enough for remote triggers and with much more energetic releases.
Avalanche
We observed a suspected R2 D1 avalanche in the same chute as the fatal accident on 12-24-2021. This avalanche was triggered from above near the rollover into the drainage. The avalanche left a crown 18-24” deep and failed on ~1mm facets. Nobody was caught or injured. We also remote triggered a wind slab avalanche on a small exposed ~30deg rollover on SE aspect slightly higher and further south. This avalanche was up to 3’ deep but limited in size due to the extents of the steep terrain.