Sawatch
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Jan 7, 2020 · Sawatch
Weather
Winds started off light increasing in the early afternoon from the southwest. Light plumes of snow off of the high peaks but wind loading is pretty much done till we we get more snow.
Snowpack
Below and near treeline where there hasn't been much wind affect, the snowpack is a sandbox. Meaning it is completely faceted. It is barely supportable on the downhill and skinning uphill results in large trenches. The snow surfaces are much like they were before last storm- Crusts on east and southerly and near-surface facets on shady slopes. The crusts are thinnest and breakable on east slopes. Somewhat thin on southeast and then thicker and stronger on south. Fist hard facets rest below crusts. Wind affected areas are very hard. The hard slabs are supportable but also rest on weak layers. In this area, wind slabs sit just below ridgetop and do not extend very far down the slope.
Avalanche
The reported avalanches below are all at least 2 days old. There has not been significant wind loading in at least 48 hours, maybe more. Avalanches were mostly small and broke directly below ridgetop where a slab formed. One photo (see media) shows a good example of a slab breaking up high and instead of propagating widely, it gouged into loose snow lower down more characteristic of a Loose Dry avalanche.