Gunnison
AvalancheBen Pritchett · Apr 5, 2024 · Gunnison
Weather
Warm and windy. High temps reached well into the 40's in the valleys and into the mid 30's above treeline. Winds gusted from the south to southwest, producing swirling snow tornadoes, but little actual loading.
Snowpack
On east-facing slopes, the facet layer buried on March 23 remains easy to find with snowpack tests, but hard to trigger because of the stiff slab and crusted surfaces above it. Efficient drifting and significant loading onto a specific slope could bring this layer back to life. We chose to avoid thin, shallow areas on steep slopes with highly variable snowpack depths.
Avalanche
Got close to one previously reported avalanche and saw another that looked to run around March 30 in thin, shallow northwest-facing slope above treeline.