Sawatch
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Apr 30, 2017 · Sawatch
Weather
Winds were moderate on exposed ridgelines but calm elsewhere. Wind loading was intense off of the highest peaks such as Mount Massive, high peaks of the Mosquito Range, and the Collegiate Range but the intense wind loading was not widespread across all ridgelines. Moderate northerly winds backed to more westerly throughout the day. Sky cover was mostly sunny east of Independence Pass with clouds obscuring peaks along the divide for most of the morning. Total settled HST was about 35 cms. Temperatures started off cold and winter-like. As the winds backed to westerly and the day progresses temperature became more spring-like.
Snowpack
No storm snow instabilities noted outside of wind-loaded terrain. Wind-transported snow was contributing to hard slabs about 6 to 12" thick that were stubborn to trigger. Most loading was above treeline on southeast quarter slopes though I did find stubborn wind slabs mid slope on northerly aspects as well. Snow became moist on a variety of aspects during periods of sunshine. Despite the strong late-April sun, very little rollerballing or wet activity was observed. Only about the top 10 cms (of the 35 cms of settled storm snow) became moist. The snow became gradually drier with depth. On a southeast aspect I observed a very thin faceted layer near the new snow/ old snow interface.---Overall, it will be possible for riders to trigger small to large Wind Slab avalanches, especially on above treeline east, southeast, and south slopes. These slabs will be stubborn and will likely be very difficult to trigger by Tuesday.---Loose Wet avalanches will be the main concern during our next big warm-up.
Avalanche
With good visibility there was a notable lack of recent avalanches. I only observed one Wind Slab avalanche on an above-treeline easterly slope.