Public Observation

Observation Details

Observations

We went out to Duck Lake on Satuday 3/26 for a little overnight camping trip and skied a N facing gully just to the east of Pika Peak while we were out there. The snow was firm going over the NW facing Duck Pass (~10,500ft) around 10:30am, and was soft with areas of corn on the S facing opposite side of the pass heading down to Duck Lake. As we neared Pika Peak we noticed debris from a Wet-Loose point-release avalanche on a W aspect east of Pika Peak around 11,000 ft. We continued up the N facing gully and found mostly old windboard that seemed promising for corn conditions until around 11,000ft where we began encountering unsupportable gloppy snow. We skied down to Duck Lake around 1:30pm with mostly pleasant corn conditions with the exception of the sticky wet snow near the top. Winds were light all day Saturday 3/26, but picked up overnight and were moderate on our way back to the trailhead Sunday 3/27. We arrived back at the cars just after 12pm on 3/27 and found plenty of weak punchy snow through the trees back to the road. The North Couloir of Pika Peak has more coverage than the Northeast Couloir. It will be interesting to see how conditions are after this incoming new snow falls on all the variety of surfaces out there right now.

Observed Avalanches

Signs of Unstable Snow