BC Zone Observation Report
Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 12:00 AM
Aspen
Details
Date:
2020/02/27
Observer:
Bob Perlmutter
Organization:
Public
Location
BC Zone:
Aspen
Area Description:
Richmond Ridge McFarlane’s Bowl 11,000’ E-ENE aspect
Weather
Weather Description:
Clear
Avalanches
Avalanche Description:
See attached image. While guiding mechanized skiing in an adjacent low angle zone, we observed a slab avalanche at approx. 11am. Looking closer there were two ski tracks from a touring party(never seen) leading towards the crown of the slide path. We moved to an observation point and saw ski tracks traversing hard skiers left above and away from the slide path. We confirmed two ski tracks descending next to old tracks from a touring party a few days prior and continuing out below the slide debris. This past Mon. saw a very significant wind event in the Aspen area combined with snowfall over a multiple period of days. It appears the two skiers approaching the rim of the bowl caused a sympathetic release of what I surmise was a storm slab with an approx. 12” crown. Also, two days ago, members of the touring party reported a noticeable settlement while skinning back up from their run and retreated from the bowl.
Date
Location/Path
#
Elev
Asp
Type
Trig
SizeR
SizeD
2020/02/27
†
Richmond Hill
1
<TL
NE
SS
AS / r
R2
D1.5
Date:
2020/02/27 (Estimated)
Observer:
Bob Perlmutter
Organization:
Public
Area Description:
McFarlands
Landmark:
Richmond Hill
Media
Images