Details

• Date: 2013/05/30

• Observer: George Dirth

Location

• BC Zone: Front Range
• Area Description: Flora Creek Drainage.
• Route Description: Skiing north from the ridge between Flora Creek and Robert Creek from ~12,200 ft. Through the area of cliffs and chutes to the skiers left of the more open porton of the bowl.

Weather

• Weather Description: Very windy 40-50 mph ridge top windspeed. Variable direction but generally coming from the West. Cold for late May, high 20's above 12000 feet. The snow that had fallen the previous 36 hours was being obviously transported by the wind.

Snowpack

• Snowpack Description: Extremely variable. In the area where the slide occurred there was consistant coverage of older, more consolidated, partially/mostly refrozen, snow. On top of which was lighter storm snow, top loaded as it came over the ridge and dropped onto the backside.

Snowpack Obsvervation Cracking: None Collapsing: None

Avalanches

	Date	Location/Path	#	Elev	Asp	Type	Trig	SizeR	SizeD
	2013/05/30  †	Berthoud Pass west side	1	>TL	N	SS	AR	R2	D1.5
Date: 2013/05/30 (Estimated) Observer: George Dirth Landmark: Berthoud Pass west side Average Slope Angle: 30 ° Maximum Slope Angle: 35 ° Elevation: 12200 ft Sliding Surface: I - New/Old Interface Weak Layer: Interface Weak Layer Grain Type: Crust Average Crown: 12 in Maximum Crown: 20 in Average Width: 50 ft Maximum Width: 100 ft Average Vertical: 300 ft Maximum Vertical: 300 ft Comments: Rolled over the windlip at the ridge cutting to the left, there was ~20 inches of snow deposited here from wind loading over the previous day. Snow slope fractured ~10 feet uphill of me with the crown extending ~40 feet in front of me and ~60 feet behind me. Kept momentum and rode to the side of the slide path. Fairly soft slab made it possible to keep balance and ride out.

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