Aspen
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek · Mar 7, 2023 · Aspen
Weather
Warm, cloudy day with temperatures above freezing all day reaching 40F by 11:00 and cloud coverage remained between Broken and Overcast. Light winds with occasional Strong gusts and Light to Moderate snow transport along ridgelines from a westerly direction.
Avalanche
A very large avalanche occurred in a path locally known as Express 1 off of Ashcroft Mountain in the southern portion of the Elk Mountain range sometime between March 4 and March 5, 2023. The avalanche buried a popular winter road, Express Creek rd., that is utilized by backcountry travelers to access backcountry huts. About 500 feet of Express Creek road were buried in debris with the debris pile deeper than 3 meters on the road in several places and an estimated 10+ meters deep farther down the path by Express Creek. The avalanche broke at least 11 trees measuring over 32 cm in diameter and at least two trees measuring 60cm in diameter as well as bending or partially breaking numerous trees on the opposite side of the creek that the avalanche released on.