Building the Colorado snowpack

**~mikey b** · 03-08-2007, 09:32 PM

I wanted to post a couple photos a co-worker took of the slide I mentioned last weekend in another thread of a slab that was triggered remotely from the ridge on South Ptarmigan on Vail Pass. One of my crew was digging a pit nearby when he heard the slab go "boom" and looked up to see a good sized slab. The guys who'd built the booter above the slope had skied the slope a bit, and were just about to jump into the same area that slid, and triggered it from the ridge while getting set up to shoot video.

I've seen a few slabs here this winter - some natural and some skier or boarder triggered, but so far, no one has been caught.

**~mikey b** · 03-15-2007, 07:35 PM

another couple of photos from Vail Pass

Today I was out on the north side of the highway, skinning and skiing the ridge just SE of Uneva Peak with the out-going and in-coming Executive Directors of the Backcountry Snowsports Alliance. There was a few inches of new snow last night, so we thought we might get in a few good turns up high on lower angled terrain. We were not disappointed.

No formal pit was dug, but traveling tests showed about 3-4" of dust on a thin crust, with about 20 cm of facets on top of another thin crust on top of about a meter of depth hoar.

There was a lot of wind transport at the ridge at 12,000', with a ginormous cornice on the north side of the ridge. The top of the bowl had a supportable crust with some good wind buff on top. Great turns were had by all.

As we got down lower, the snow was less and less supportable. This made for some dodgy skiing and a couple of funny, yet knee threataning falls. I dug a huge hole in the snow with my head, and had to call for some assistance in extricating my ski and leg. Managed to get out on my own, but I was truly Flounder on that one...

A bit lower down (approx 11,000') on a 27 deg., S facing slope, I came over a roll and the snow at my feet collapsed and I came to a grinding halt. When the snow below me collapsed, it remotely triggered an isolated collapse around a tree about 20 meters away. This was an isolated pocket, totally separate from the surface snow I was on. I'd never seen such a thing.

With our thin snowpack and the warm temps, things can chage pretty quickly. Expect the unexpected.

**FiveLarge** · 03-16-2007, 01:52 AM

thanks, Mike. that remote collapse is wild.

**smitchell333** · 03-18-2007, 10:38 PM

Skied Quandary yesterday 3/17.

On the ascent we were in the trees about 11500 or so on an East/NE aspect and triggered an extensive 100' by 20' collapse. 3-4" of very hard crust on top of 2-3' of mixed slushy unfrozen and lingering depth hoar. On more northerly aspects in the trees it was also inverted, but with a cold powdery slab 1-2" deep on top of 2-3' of depth hoar.

Above treeline on South faces the snow was much more consolidated and frozen firm - we skied Cristo with 0 sign of instability until the very bottom where it started to be unfrozen underneath where thin.

Net/Net I wouldnt trust anything steep below treeline or north facing or very shallow.

**FrankZappa** · 08-10-2007, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by telemike

...

As we got down lower, the snow was less and less supportable. This made for some dodgy skiing and a couple of funny, yet knee threataning falls. I dug a huge hole in the snow with my head, and had to call for some assistance in extricating my ski and leg. Managed to get out on my own, but I was truly Flounder on that one...

A bit lower down (approx 11,000') on a 27 deg., S facing slope, I came over a roll and the snow at my feet collapsed and I came to a grinding halt. When the snow below me collapsed, it remotely triggered an isolated collapse around a tree about 20 meters away. This was an isolated pocket, totally separate from the surface snow I was on. I'd never seen such a thing.

Did you get back here after the snow melted out Mike?

I'm curious if maybe there is a spring or seep under there. - or maybe some kind of mine activity / hole or somethin.

**~mikey b** · 08-10-2007, 08:41 PM

nope - but I'd bet it was just the dodgy snow - the terrain was so shallow, that any sort of collapse would have no chance to run downslope - I'd never seen anything like that, but other people I've talked to have - in AK I've heard LARGE areas whumph in lower angle terrain on muskeg and other rotten ground, but I've never seen something so pronounced and isolated

**pechelman** · 10-15-2007, 09:08 AM

should we start a new thread or just use this one?

either way, bump cause there is snow on the ground in some places.

hows the snow looking to those who were up there?
saw some snow snakes in a tr that makes it look favorable, ie wet 'n heavy.

**Rontele** · 10-15-2007, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by pechelman

should we start a new thread or just use this one?

either way, bump cause there is snow on the ground in some places.

hows the snow looking to those who were up there?
saw some snow snakes in a tr that makes it look favorable, ie wet 'n heavy.

A new one.