Front Range
AvalancheJeff Ashby · May 21, 2015 · Front Range
Weather
Partly cloudy in morning, with increasing clouds and light snow after noon
Snowpack
Surface snow on Torrey's north face varied from hard slab to 5 inches of wet, fresh snow on top of slab. Some areas showed deeper layer that was easily penetrable with a closed fist.
Avalanche
Most of the north face couloirs had wet snow slides. The couloir known as "emperor" had a remarkably large slab avalanche which occurred sometime between the afternoon of May 19 and the afternoon of May 20. The outflow debris was estimated at 20 to 30 feet deep at its deepest point where it emerged from the narrow couloir near the bottom at Grizzly gulch. A crown could be seen about 1000 ft up the couloir on a northeast aspect - the crown was approximately 2 ft deep and extended approximately 150 ft laterally. The slab appears to have broken at the boundary between old snow and the mother's day snow. A single ski track was noted emerging from the couloir, covered in spots by the debris - the track is believed to have been made late in the day on May 19.