CAIC

CAIC: Colorado Avalanche Information Center

BC Zone Observation Report

Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 12:00 AM
Front Range

Details

Date: 2017/01/28

Observer: Matthias Messner
Organization: Public

Location

BC Zone: Front Range
Area Description: Butler Gulch - East of Oyster Peak

Weather

Weather Description: Cold, windy, very low light.

Snowpack

Snowpack Description: Sastrugi where we skied and extremely variable. We didn't dig a pit.

Avalanches

Avalanche Description: Wind slab avalanche. About 150 m wide 150 m long. Crown 1.5 feet. Debris about 5-6 feet high.

Date

Location/Path

#

Elev

Asp

Type

Trig

SizeR

SizeD

View

2017/01/28 ^†

Butler Gulch

1

>TL

SE

HS

AS / u

R2

D2

Media

Images

<b>Figure 1:</b> Panorama pic.

In the hindsight we realized (or that is how we explained it to ourselves) that the wind blowing South East parallel to the North East facing runs across the smaller ridge that starts at B formed the wind slab that I triggered. (<a href=javascript:void(0); onClick=win=window.open('https://caic-production.imgix.net/4yu0pailyxztqt0toyp8560ufqch?ixlib=php-3.1.0&s=a7e447f212d9faa38942cb578e45024e','caic_media','resizable=1,height=820,width=840,scrollbars=yes');win.focus();return false;>see full sized image</a>)

<b>Figure 2:</b> Skied from A to B. The run was covered by super solid Sastrugi.
B was outside the fall line of our run. The run was less then 40 degrees steep. At B it started to getting flatter, definitely less then 30 degrees. Once my partner joined me at B. I traversed from B to C. The light was very low and as I skied along I noticed the super solid sastrugi turned into a more softer wind slab (near C). That was when I heard the crack and realized that the slab underneath was moving, I turned back and pointed my skies towards D, trying to outski the slide. I came to a stop when the debris started piling up and was about to pull the airbag but realized that it has ended. Nothing happened to me, except I lost my phone ;) (<a href=javascript:void(0); onClick=win=window.open('https://caic-production.imgix.net/6ttzk2qvdzue76hves6onhz7s5nr?ixlib=php-3.1.0&s=2bbfec1475e81c2cf4be264c92394f9c','caic_media','resizable=1,height=820,width=840,scrollbars=yes');win.focus();return false;>see full sized image</a>)