Front Range
AvalancheERIC TOLLUND · Jan 22, 2024 · Front Range
Weather
Weather was mostly cloudy with periods of strong sun mixed with moments of snowfall. Winds were generally light and out of the west.
Avalanche
While travelling up valley in the West Fork of the Clear Creek our crew observed a very large crown extending from just below a large cornice along the ridegline down and across a slope on a peak referred to as "Money Peak." Our crew skinned up to investigate the toe of the debris field and performed a beacon search which was negative. It was estimated that at the deepest spot the debris was 8 - 12 feet deep. We spoke with Alpine SAR who were in the area and they reported there was no avalanche when they passed through that specific location around 0900, we were on site around noon. After much discussion, we rated this avalanche as HS-N(C)-R3.5-D3-O and most likely was triggered from cornice fall as there were large pieces of cornice missing from the high ridgeline.