Sawatch

Avalanche

Jason Konigsberg · Feb 26, 2022 · Sawatch

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Weather

Windy but not a lot of snow moving except for the highest peaks of the Sawatch. Cold. Settled storm snow in this area totals about 8 inches.

Snowpack

Weak and shallow snowpack on the east side of Leadville. Pretty normal really. Snow height about 1 meter with well-developed depth hoar on northerly near and below treeline slopes. The recent snow is not amounting to much of a slab in sheltered areas. Minor cracking observed in the soft and thin slab. Near and above treeline I traveled on southerly slopes and the wind-drifted slab was thicker and stiffer. I got several collapses on these south-facing slopes as fist-hard facets sit below a thin melt-freeze crust about 25 cm from the surface.

Avalanche

None observed in Empire, Iowa Gulch, or around California Gulch.