Gunnison
AvalancheBen Pritchett · Jan 4, 2020 · Gunnison
Weather
Cool start then a very warm feeling January mid-day. Generally moderate westerly winds with light wind loading, but around 3pm winds turned southwesterly and began to transport more significant amounts of snow again.
Snowpack
No cracking or collapsing despite pushing on numerous steep drifts. Friday's Wind Slab avalanche problem (prior to late PM renewed drifting) had gone to bed. As the drifting patterns change and load a variety of weak layers, the Persistent Slab distribution has also changed. Friday there was a cycle of natural avalanches that broke on persistent weak layers, some near the ground gouging into dirt and rock. Investigating the crust facet combinations on southeast to south-facing terrain showed a developing Persistent Slab avalanche problem. We found a layer of 1.5mm well-developed and not sintered facets above the thick crust formed in the Pre-Xmas warm up. ECTN, with a slab fracture, but CT's were clean, fast, and smooth. Slab is borderline in sheltered areas, and would be a gamble on steeper drifted southerly terrain.
Avalanche
We saw a natural cycle of D2+ hard slabs breaking near the ground. Likely these ran Friday during the peak Northerly wind event. Dozens of other small Wind Slab avalanches broke on north through east to south aspects without stepping down into old weak snow.