Gunnison

Snowpack

Josh Hirshberg · Jan 27, 2013 · Gunnison

View on map

Weather

Broken clouds becoming overcast. Enough sun to make the surface moist on SE slopes. Intermittent snowfall with convective bursts of S2 graupel. Mostly light winds with moderate NW gusts. Light blowing snow, but intermittent.

Snowpack

Dug quickly in two locations. See pits. Jan 25th melt layer facets 22-30cm below the surface is a problematic storm instability below treeline. Variable thickness/strength of Jan 24th crusts seems to be a factor in triggering SE slopes. Saw sudden and clean compression tests and shovel tilt results on both melt layer facets and crust/facet layers. No test results in the lower half of the snowpack.