Front Range
AvalancheAnonymous · Mar 28, 2021 · Front Range
Weather
Cold and windy (mostly from the NW) in the morning, hot af by the time we left dry gulch. Lots of surface melting low down in dry gulch
Snowpack
Some proper chowda turns on NE facing slopes near treeline. Didnt dig any pits, managed risk by staying off and under slopes greater than about 30 deg
Avalanche
Observed what appeared to be a natural R1.5 D2 wind slab avalanche on an E facing slope above tree line (~12,500ft) approximately 0.75 mi S of Hagar mountain. Ran from just below the cornice most/all of the way down to the basin floor, maybe 750 vertical ft. Assuming natural because we broke trail up Dry Gulch in the morning, saw no signs of others in the area, and the slope was being actively wind loaded so fast that by the time we left you barely could see the crown and debris. In the morning there was a distinct crown suggesting a slab avalanche, but as it filled in with wind transported snow, it looked more like a loose dry. Sorry phone battery froze, no pics.