Front Range
AvalancheRon Haddad · Mar 16, 2019 · Front Range
Weather
Calm, clear, moderating temperatures on day of observation.
Snowpack
Dense, some wind, sun effect. No evaluation was made.
Avalanche
On the morning of Friday, March 15 my ski partner and I skied from the Hermit Lake Trailhead on I-70 into Watrous Gulch via the Watrous Gulch trail . As we turned the corner into the Gulch itself, we observed the aftermath of a large slide that originated near the top of the wide gully on the SW side of Mt. Parnassus. (See map) The crown was at an elevation of 12,400 feet. The slide ran a surprisingly long distance along the Watrous Gulch creek down to an elevation of around 10,800 feet. We guessed that the slide ran the day before, some time after the snow storm of Wednesday, March 13. No new snow had been deposited on top of the debris. Several things surprised us about this slide: First was the volume of snow, which upon deposition formed a large moraine-like structure at the base of the gully. Second was the distance, estimated around 200 yards, that it travelled along the creek bottom. Third was the way the flowing snow had split discretely into two separate areas: one being the aforementioned creek bed and the second being an apron of snow that ran across the creek at a right angle covering the summer trail. This debris field surpassed the summer trail a distance of 150 feet. Interestingly an undisturbed glade separated these two areas. There is little doubt in our minds that the slide released naturally as it is inconceivable that anyone would have attempted to ski this line. Finally a couple other fresh slides were observed within the basin bounded by Point 12396 (aka Machebouef), Woods Mtn, and Mt. Parnassus, but none was as dramatic as the one just described.