Sawatch
SnowpackEthan Greene · Dec 18, 2015 · Sawatch
Weather
Mostly clear skies with increasing cloud cover (to Few in the afternoon) during the day. Mild temperatures, but warm in the sunshine with melting in the tree canopy, affecting snow surface below treeline. Westerly winds 10-20 with gusts over 30mph. Lots of snow transport, intense at times. Snow transport occurring below treeline.
Snowpack
The snowpack is shallow. Below treeline there are 20-30 cm of snow and about half the depth is new snow from this week. Near treeline there is 60-70 cm of new snow with around 30 cm of new. Above treeline the wind has stripped open areas down to the surface roughness. Drifts on easterly aspects (NE-SE) are thick, but don't cover a large portion of the slope. Old snow is quite weak with 1-3 mm facets. Potential for Persistent Slab avalanches exists, but there is not enough snow to create very large avalanches. Most avalanches would be D2(+/- 0.5).