Gunnison

Avalanche

Road tour of avalanche activity, viewed from valley bottom along roadways near Crested Butte, looking up to 12,000 ft. Roughly 30 natural avalanches observed, ranging from D1 to D2 in size. Most, if not all, appeared to fail on facet layers near the ground. Majority of the slides we observed were below treeline, several near treeline on N through E aspects, and one SE aspect ATL. Observations of alpine were limited due to vis. No slides observed on southerly aspects below treeline; these slopes were generally bare prior to mid-December storm cycle.