Gunnison
SnowpackBen Pritchett · Dec 8, 2022 · Gunnison
Weather
Obscured near daybreak, then overcast, and skies becoming broken by mid-day. Winds 5 to 15 MPH out of the west. Chilly, around ~10 degrees.
Snowpack
The height of snow is around 33 inches in wind-sheltered near-treeline terrain. Roughly 4" of snow water equivalent sits above the late January interface. In sheltered areas this 4" of SWE settled into a 20cm thick, 1-finger hard slab, perched on the old snow. About 30-40cm of fluff on top of the slab.
East and southeast-facing slopes might be the most spooky because of a buried crust / facet combo below the post-Thanksgiving slabs. We observed several very broad collapses in areas with this structure.
In contrast, northerly-facing terrain lacks the crust. The old basal snow is just uniformly weak, without the crust to broaden propagation. Still easy to solicit a collapse, but not quite as rumbling.
East and southeast-facing slopes might be the most spooky because of a buried crust / facet combo below the post-Thanksgiving slabs. We observed several very broad collapses in areas with this structure.
In contrast, northerly-facing terrain lacks the crust. The old basal snow is just uniformly weak, without the crust to broaden propagation. Still easy to solicit a collapse, but not quite as rumbling.