Forums Current Conditions Colorado 14-15 here we Go! Viewing 20 posts - 81 through 100 (of 131 total) ← 1 … 4 5 6 7 → Author Posts February 28, 2015 at 7:10 pm #780794 summersgone 820 Posts Storm so far has been a dud really for Silverton / Durango. No 2-4′ of snow, yet… We’ll see. Red Mountain Pass picked up .3 inches of water, and a few inches. Storm isn’t over yet though. But, with the snow from last week, its still damn good! March 1, 2015 at 1:42 pm #780802 summersgone 820 Posts Went for a repeat today. 8″+ new from last night. Making around 18″ storm total. Supposed to keep up too. Heat came in although it was dumping. End of the day it changed from blower to snowball. But it was good none the less. March 3, 2015 at 12:57 pm #780877 chase 31 Posts @summersgone can’t wait to get down there for Silverton Splitfest! Hopefully this cycle hangs on and keeps things fresh down there (and up here). Looks like there’ll be a little break and then possibly start back up. Forecast > http://www.barlometer.com/ March 3, 2015 at 7:03 pm #780890 cometogether 385 Posts NIce pics Jason, all artsy and shit! good work, that’s strange I heard the same thing about the stuff down south right when I was getting pumped to go that way. The Front Range has been doing ok, little storms keep rolling through leaving a couple inches each time and lately the wind hasn’t been around but looks like that is about to change again. Did set off our first somewhat real slide action of the year so the layers are a building with all this new weight. play safe out there I got tomorrow off! cams look good! these stoms are setting us up nicely for spring from the last sun I’ve seen in the hills in 5 days! March 9, 2015 at 10:36 am #780993 summersgone 820 Posts This post may help people coming out for splitfest or riding around down here. It is certainly complex and scary right now. But its good to know what is happening. Got out this weekend, and it was pretty educational. Most of my pictures of are avalanches, and I haven’t taken off my camera yet, so you’ll just have to read. It seems that almost everything from NW to E facing has slid in the last week. We are talking in the 100s. Some paths I’ve never seen go as bit as they did. Everything from wide open bowls to point releases in dense trees. Super spooky. But, people were making tracks on SW to SE facing terrain safely. Dug a pit on a N aspect, below treeline. Solid slab about 30 inches or so, and the full bottom is rotten sugar. On a CT test got a Q3 (blew out) on 3. We stuck to low angle. Main thing is pole plants certainly don’t tell the story here. Most pole plants won’t hit that layer and stop a foot or so down, but it is certainly rotten under it. So don’t think you are safe from pole plants seeming OK. I do think corn cycle is going to happen on S facing. My estimations are somewhere around 10-11am should be good on those aspects. I didn’t dig any pits, but I think there is no persistant layer below like the N and E aspects. Hate to say it, but N and E aspects probably are out for a while, unless they have slid, and slabs are not there anymore. I know a few slopes have slid, here is a sort of list but certainly not everything. Just what I saw driving red mountain pass. Most were D2-3 size. These aren’t all slides, but helpful to know what went, and may not be holding huge pockets of death. Pumphouse R4 (almost to the road) NE 11,800 start Python R2 (still slabs on the start zone I feel) N 12,000 Snowslide R2 N 11,600 Battleship R3 (all paths went mostly) 12,400 NW Face Bear Mountain R2 12,400 Sultan (mid storm, still feel there is slabs up on it) N 13,200 Irenes R4 NE 12,000 Battleship NW Face R2 12,400 Chatanooga N Face R1 (all big faces are slabbed up) 11,600 Riley Boy E face r2 (lots of hangfire still there on E and SE aspect of start) 12,200 A few that didn’t go, and probably have massive slabs on it (aka, I’d stay away) Pencil (N facing) N Facing Chatanooga (only first small path in trees went, rest is slabbed) Bear Peak Personally, I’m switching to solar aspects and corn for the next few weeks. Hope this helps. March 9, 2015 at 1:02 pm #780999 DEAGOL 48 Posts thanks for the update, hope things improve by April March 9, 2015 at 2:58 pm #781001 summersgone 820 Posts @deagol, I think it will. The N facing stuff that hasn’t slid may not improve though by April. There is easily 2 feet of sugar down there, and would need extensive freeze thaws to get into that. But only time will tell. But, there are a lot more options than N facing alpine routes down here, so everything should be just fine. Also, a lot of the stuff that has slid might not be too bad with a bit of time. I’m looking forward to riding different lines than I normally look for. Its forcing me to get a bit outside what I normally look for, which is fun! Also, lets cross fingers for no dust events… March 9, 2015 at 4:04 pm #781003 Taylor 792 Posts Interesting and thanks, Summersgone. Our storm cycle tally was “only” in the mid 60″s for the southern Sawatch. We have seen a lot of activity too, mostly N -> E-> SE. Ours does not sound as widespread as southern mtns. Monarch Ridge and Mt. Peck both had natural events, and I can see a pretty impressive crown near Clover from my front window. More spooky are the similar slopes and aspects that didn’t go, but that are still primed. What little time I got to spend in the mountains this weekend showed that things warmed up quite a bit; corn will be on the menu on all but the shadiest aspects up through 11.5. That’s good because as weekday riding goes, the time change favors a switch from what will be firmer or icy dawn to softer sunset patrols. @sun_rocket March 9, 2015 at 6:54 pm #781007 DEAGOL 48 Posts I am looking forward to some wide open lines down there, tired of sketchy lines through tight trees…. +1 on hope for no dust events, I guess we are getting close to that time of year, eh? March 9, 2015 at 9:15 pm #781032 summersgone 820 Posts Pumphouse full path Tiger Main ran naturally across the road Smaller slides March 10, 2015 at 3:31 pm #781059 Taylor 792 Posts For those interested, here’s the post-cycle look at the east facing ridge between Bald and Clover Mts in the southern Sawatch. Black lines denote apparent crowns and debris. Ele. 11.6 – 12.8. NE, E, SE. Looks like multiple events at multiple times of varying sizes, some quite large judging from the debris piles. This image is from this morning (3.10). Click to enlarge. @sun_rocket March 10, 2015 at 6:17 pm #781067 permnation 303 Posts Here’s a big one, not too far from WC Pass. March 11, 2015 at 1:11 am #781074 HansGLudwig 601 Posts ^Holy cow, I need to change my long johns now! Be sure to bookmark Splitboard.com's Recent Activity page... http://splitboard.com/activity-2/ March 11, 2015 at 7:13 am #781086 cometogether 385 Posts nice posts Jason! thanks for being the eyes of your area for us, it is a long drive to get skunked on.. Looks to me like the front range wins again! I sure do hate the shitty but I have not seen any action like that anywhere near here, the storms have come in pretty consistent and we didn’t have a crazy dry warm spell like down south. From what I have seen lately in Colorado is that down south losses snow much faster than here in the front range. I had the chance to get out to crested butte over the last couple of days and I must say WOW. They are over a month ahead of us as far as melt freeze and are having a LOT of natural activity after this last storm cycle. South facing looked corny by noon and all the way up to 12k. roller balls and I’d imagine wet action if you went that way. We stayed N-NE and found nice soft fluff. It was all starting to warm up and I could see with temps staying in the 40s that north could also corn up here soon. Definitely some BIG slide action on ALOT of aspects in CB, they too have a nasty hoar sugar deep down. Should be interesting to see what mother nature does in the next month! as always heres some pics! the van at “home” " /> g earth says close to 2400ft down to the river! " /> spring break weather! " /> March 18, 2015 at 7:22 am #781287 Stagger Lee 242 Posts Hi CO folks, Does anyone know if it’s ok or legal to camp in the Ashcroft area winter parking/trialheads this time of year? I’ve spent the night there in the back of my pickup under a camper shell a few times, arriving after dark, but that’s pretty stealthy. This year we’ll be using a pop-up truck camper, so not stealthy at all. This thing seems to be a magnet for law enforcement types who like to tell us to move along. Heading into Goodwin-Greene on the morning of the 28th, so it would only be for one night. Cheers. March 23, 2015 at 8:30 am #781395 summersgone 820 Posts Did my level 2 this weekend with Silverton Avalanche School, and got some great info. Peaks and alpine are going off! Also, corn cycle is in full effect. Still some cold snow on Northerly alpine aspects, and a large persistant slab lurking, although very difficult to trigger. Most pits tests we did were on the Northerly alpine aspects, as they were the most fun. Found that most compressions were difficult to trigger, but if possible, it could go big in really big. Avoiding shallow spots is the key. But saw snowmobilers high siding N aspects as well with no consequence. CTMQ1 ECTHQ1 PST – Most failed less than 50%, this one failed at 50/160cm, full block. NNE aspect, 12,200. Corn cycle, E aspect, 11am Peaking with SAS Clear nights made for good overnight freezes. March 24, 2015 at 1:16 pm #781415 DEAGOL 48 Posts was that St. Paul Lodge, by any chance ??? March 24, 2015 at 2:01 pm #781416 summersgone 820 Posts Sure was @deagol. March 24, 2015 at 3:41 pm #781417 DEAGOL 48 Posts cool, I styed there many years ago while in college… would be fun to get up into US Basin again. April 7, 2015 at 9:33 am #781537 chase 31 Posts @summersgone any more recent beta on San Juan for those of us driving down for splitfest? did you guys end up getting dust this past week? Viewing 20 posts - 81 through 100 (of 131 total) ← 1 … 4 5 6 7 → You must be logged in to reply to this topic.