CAIC

Details

Weather Description: Around 10 am the sky was partly cloudy with moderate winds out of the west and temperatures were below freezing. Clouds increased around noon and the area become completely overcast by 1pm. A couple of snow flakes started to fall around 1pm and by 1:45pm the car had about half an inch when we got back.

Snowpack Description: We investigated a possible snowboarder triggered avalanche on Loveland Pass that was reported this morning around 6:45 am. Near where we suspect the avalanche was triggered, we found the crown was 35cm deep and slid on a wind-hardened 1F- crust that was 1cm thick. About 20ft down from the initial crown it stepped down into an extremely weak basal layer of large depth hoar crystals (4-6mm). We performed an Extended Column Test in our crown profile and found propagating (ECTP16) results 25cm from the ground. This was in the middle of the depth hoar layer. Above this crown line there appeared to be an older crown from earlier this season. This could be why the snowpack was relatively shallow in this location.

Avalanche Description: The avalanche was approximately 300ft wide and ran about 300 vertical feet, and the crown ranged from 1 to 3 feet deep. The debris of the avalanche averaged 3 feet deep, but was up to 9 feet deep in places. The avalanche appeared to be triggered in a rocky section of the slope where the slab was thin. The bed surface in this area was a thin, stiff layer, but the avalanche stepped down into basal depth hoar. A member of the public reported this avalanche around 6:45 a.m. They reported seeing one track entering the slide and no exit tracks visible. The Clear Creek County Sheriff, Alpine Rescue Team, and two C-RAD validated dog teams (from Loveland Ski Area and Copper Mountain) responded. After an extensive search, the scene was called clear and all teams were out of the field by 1:45 pm.

Date

Location/Path

Elev

Asp

Type

Trig

SizeR

SizeD

2022/03/16 ^†

Loveland Pass-Northside

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