Steamboat & Flat Tops

Avalanche

Austin DiVesta · Dec 12, 2022 · Steamboat & Flat Tops

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Weather

Sunny and warm with approaching clouds. The car's temperature gauge read 25 degrees around 9:45am then was 35 degrees 11:30am. I did not notice any snow moving around along ridge lines.

Snowpack

Much of Willow Creek Pass from Granby to Rand had about a foot to two feet of snow on the ground. Most of the sagebrush, downed trees, and grasses were still showing. The east-facing slopes below treeline head more snow than any southerly and west-facing slopes along the highway. Views of Parkview and Sheep Mountains showed decent snow coverage on northeast through east to southeast-facing slopes. At the same time, some of the more northern slopes were stripped of much of their snow due to the strong winds from North Park. I noticed one relatively small avalanches on an east-facing slope above treeline on Parkview, which looked to be several days old.

Avalanche

Avalanche seen from the Highway 125 Willow Creek Pass.