Gunnison

Avalanche

Ben Pritchett · Mar 23, 2018 · Gunnison

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Weather

Snowed all day in the Alpine. >S5 precipitation in numerous pulses. Big pulse around 11, another around 1 (frontal passage) then numerous convective cells throughout the afternoon. Report from Star Pass included <10' visibility all day, with only a few breaks minutes long. Strong winds transporting significant snow.

Snowpack

Wet snowpack down low. Rain saturated snowpack below treeline with a 12+ hour deluge, dropping something in excess of .5" of liquid precip. Storm slabs in the alpine with storm totals topping 20" near Taylor Pass. Over 2" SWE observed at Schofield. PM winds drifted snow continuously. Taylor Pass reported no cracking in the snow. Star Pass was unable to test the new snow as visibility didn't allow forecasters to find the cornice lip, though they did report 3 fresh avalanches.

Avalanche

5x on Whetstone, 3x reported off Crystal's North Face.