Sawatch
SnowpackLogan Myers · Jan 24, 2013 · Sawatch
Weather
It was windy and warm with overcast skies. There has not been any precip in the last 2 weeks so there was no snow available for transport.
Snowpack
The snowpack varied significantly within small distances. Mostly what we found were facets all the way to the ground, and most of the snowpack was between 1-2 feet deep. Surprising southeast aspects had the best snow for skiing. The snow was more compacted and less faceted. You didn't sink all the way to the base. This was also the aspect we saw avalanche debris on. Straight southern aspects were starting to develop a crust, but it was not as widespread as I had anticipated. Western aspects near and just below treeline were developing a windcrust over facets. This crust would fail easily and fracture lines from these crusts propagated long distances.