Gunnison
AvalancheBrian Lazar and Zach Guy · Jan 15, 2016 · Gunnison
Weather
Overcast decreased to broken skies. S-1 snowfall in the morning for a couple hours, but only a half inch accumulation or so. Moderate SW ridgetop winds, with light snow transport. Plumes from NW winds observed on Mt. Emmons as we left the trailhead in the afternoon.
Snowpack
5 cm of storm snow over a widespread near surface facet layer. Minimal wind affect below leeward ridgelines, with drifts 10-15 cm. New snow was noticeably more wind affected mid to lower on the slope from cross-loading down valley winds. Observed drifts up 25cm thick with cracking up to 10 feet on steep rollovers, but no avalanches. HS in old refilling avalanche paths was 50-80cm. More a like 120-150 in areas that didn't avalanches, but there weren't many paths in this area that didn't run.
Avalanche
On a NE aspect NTL, we kicked a small cornice that triggered a loose snow avalanche ion the ~10cm of new drifted storm snow. This quickly gouged into old facet layers and ran 1,200 vertical feet. Given the narrown, plunging, and choked gulley feature it ran through, the slide could have injured or buried someone. This type of avalanche is a distinct possibility in a lot of near and btl terrain right now. No other avalanche activity observed.