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February 25th, 2010
Snow and Ice Report
Rocky Mountain National Park
If I haven't had time to write a report for the site these last two weeks, it's only because I've been out skiing great powder for 9 out of the last 11 days, leaving little time for other ventures or vices. I'm not asking for pity, only patience.
Although the info from the Bear Lake Snotel station (9520') shows a total of approx. 11 inches of new snow deposited since the 17th, this biggest storm of the season for RMNP started on the 11th and continued with little interruption through the 21st. Check-out Dan's weather report for more details.
We were skiing in the Dead Elk Couloir on the 12th and during our mid-day 2nd lap, the snowfall rate increased to an amazing 2-3" an hour! We quickly bailed from that location as the resulting sloughs on all sides became increasingly sizable. When snow is falling much more than a 1/2" per hour rate in these steeper couloirs, sloughs will release naturally, often in 10-30 minute intervals.
When new or lee deposited snow rates grow to the breaking point, the resulting sloughs can occur many times per hour and we observed numerous avalanches releasing from the adjacent Dragontail Couloir that were large enough to bury a person if not a car (D2-D3 in size).
The best news during this period of recent snowfall which continued almost continuously through the 21st, was that there was little to no wind observed the entire time- it must be a record!
In most locations on the east side of RMNP between 10-12k, totals of 1-4 feet of new snow accumulated as non-cohesive layer on top of a deep (>2m) and relatively strong base.
Therefore, during this time, our primary avalanche concern has been sloughing; the type of avalanche activity that is the most predictable and generally less dangerous than harder slabs.
Corien De Jong enjoying sweet powder turns in the Dead Elk Couloir on a Ski Outing on Feb. 21st.
Our Ski Outings and Avalanche Seminars are designed to train capable leaders and skilled decision-makers in the high mountains.
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A diagram of the lower apron of the Dragontail Spire from a photo taken on a busy mid-Feb. day. Photo taken from Emerald Lake, RMNP, Colorado.
Our Avalanche Seminar team was able to observe numerous examples of poor decision-making that made for a very educational experience during our outing in the Tyndall Gorge. The red area at right in the photo is the avalanche path of the Dragontail Couloir that had been releasing in recent days and hours with debris piling up more than 6' high, almost reaching the shores of Emerald Lake.
The black line up the slope outlines the up track that was established before we arrived and which everyone seemed to be using for the ascent. A group of climbers were going up and down the Dragontail, presenting the threat of human released slough or slab avalanches.
The wildest section of this up track was made by a pair of skiers who continued across the Dead Elk Couloir to the west and through some of the most avalanche prone terrain in this entire valley. This east-facing slope, super lee loaded, unsupported, and littered with weakening trees is a sketchy one. Luckily they did not decide to ski directly down that slope as it could have been catastrophic.
Outlined in green is the up-track that we typically take in this cirque that weaves narrowly between the two avalanche paths. It's great to enjoy the off-piste experience, in fact it's one of my favorite activities, but we must be super smart about when and where we go and this day was an example of some of the poorer judgment in regard to route selection that I've seen in some time.
If you're looking to increase your risk management skills in this environment, I invite you to join one of my Avalanche Field Seminars, with openings this upcoming Feb. 27-28 weekend. This Field Seminar is an investment in your safety that will payoff in the short and long term.
Click on outlined photos to enlarge.
A close-up of the debris at the base of the Dragontail Couloir on Feb. 14th with a skier heading up the middle of this landing zone for avalanches. Two other climbers are hanging out next to the rock, directly in the middle of this active avalanche path.
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(Below) Sixty-nine year old climber Steve Klein and I were able to enjoy a few days of mixed training on the crags of the Estes Valley in mid-February.
Steve has done numerous mountain trips to Alaska, South America, and even camp 3 on Everest during his 4 year climbing career- his only regret: "that I started so late".
"Well done Steve" I say, as he went for it in mixed climbing and so we have our sights set on other mixed routes in the Flatirons and beyond.
Another favorite spring venue are the single and multi-pitch routes of Eldorado Canyon, where some of the best routes in the Front Range beckon to the aspiring and seasoned climber. Early spring is often t-shirt weather in the hot Colorado sunshine and my favorite season for Eldo time.
Please contact me at:
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if you're interested in guide training, rescue skills, aid or big-wall climbing, crevasse rescue, advanced sport and trad lead climbing techniques. Check-out our range of climbing courses here.
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(Above)Usually behind the camera, the rarely photographed Eli getting in some deep powder turns on the Dragontail Apron on a February, 21st outing.
Photo courtesy of Fast Froggy.
Although we had 10 days with minimal wind and a resulting lower avalanche danger due to non-cohesive snow on the surface, the winds started blowing hard enough on Feb. 23rd to transform much of this snowpack and this has increased the avalanche danger in the Front Range considerably. Slabs have formed on the surface to adequate depths and size as to present a real risk and many new crowns were observed on untraveled lee slopes above treeline throughout RMNP on Feb. 24th.
The current avalanche danger rating is at least CONSIDERABLE if not HIGH for the lee and cross-loaded aspects in RMNP (N-E-S). Backcountry travelers should test the snowpack regularly with ski cuts, test slopes, and hand shears to check for slab cohesion, sensitivity and propagation potential, especially with the large volume of new snow that will have been transported by the most recent winds.
(Above) Eli getting pumped on the HF project.
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 (Above) Scott Hetherington enjoying some RMNP powder on an Avalanche Field Seminar.
February through May are the biggest snow months in the Front Ranges, so we have plenty of time yet for skiing season the snowpack to keep increasing in depth and the skiing to keep getting better with more terrain accessible with each passing storm.
(Above) Fast Froggy being swallowed up by deep powder on a Sunday Ski Outing.
Check-out the video here that we shot on this very snowy day in the Tyndall Gorge of RMNP.
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(Above) CLG Apprentice Guide Mike Arnold on a ClimbingLife Guides Friday Ski Outing in the Corral Couloir of Flattop Mountain.
These outings are in a small group where team members can practice and hone the critical skills involved in backcountry travel methods while enjoying the best conditions that RMNP has to offer. We encourage you to join one of our outings, which meet every Friday in Estes Park for the next three months of what is the best off-piste season in Colorado.
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 (Above) The beautiful Jaws ice climb in the Fern Canyon of RMNP at sunrise on Feb. 23rd, 2010. Two days of intense heat and radiation have done some damage to what is likely the largest ice route in shape in the park. The easier left side is mostly detached and hollow, leaving steeper (WI 4+ to 5) and very wet and detaching conditions on the rest of this 45m tall flow.
Winds over the last two days have been consistently peaking in the 30-40mph mph range at 12k along the Continental Divide and so the avalanche danger has risen into the CONSIDERABLE rating for all slopes and HIGH for the most loaded and unsupported terrain. Avalanche Danger in CO has stayed at CONSIDERABLE or HIGH for the last few weeks due to the volume of new snow in many locations.
The slopes that are most likely to be HIGH DANGER are primarily on unsupported, lee loaded slopes near and above treeline, especially with scattered trees or convexity's. Refer to the photo at the beginning of this report for a prime example. Shallow slopes <2m, especially on north and east facing slopes are more suspect due to a thick depth hoar layer that will persist for many more months but will hopefully become deeply buried soon. The increased snowfall and with more scheduled to come will hopefully lessen or negate what has been a long-term issue this winter in the U.S. Rockies during what has been thus far been a shallow snowpack winter.
  (Left) Team avalanche rescue practice on a Field Avalanche Seminar. (Right) Snowpit studies above Dream Lake on the north face of the east ridge of Hallett Peak in RMNP.
These has been a bad few weeks for avalanche accidents and fatalities in the Rockies with another Colorado backcountry skier death nearby Aspen and other avalanche deaths in Wyoming and Alaska this month bringing the national death toll for the year from avalanches to 18 individuals. Some of our more avalanche potential months are still ahead as the ideal 'summer snowpack' will not arrive for many months to come. Stay safe out there!
 
(Above Left) Kevin Coopman in the middle of the massive snowfall that occurred on Feb.12th during our Friday Ski Outing. (Right) Corien De Jong and Fast Froggy enjoying perfect climbing conditions below the Dragontail Spire.
 
I'm often asked what are the secrets to sustaining such a high level of metabolic activity in the high mountains, so I've included examples of common pre and post mountain cuisine.
(Left) Alejo Lazatti and Joe Neimuth in my favorite restaurant, the Estes Park Donut Shop. Alejo, while visiting from Ecuador, enjoying a frosty apres-ski energy drink courtesy of the Upslope Brewery.
 
Eli Helmuth is an UIAGM Licensed Mountain Guide and AMGA Certified Rock, Alpine, Ski Mountaineering Guide with 21 years of worldwide, professional experience.
Contact us at:
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or call 970.744.4898 to plan a fun-filled and educational mountain outing with Eli Helmuth, RMNP's most experienced mountain guide.
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