Gunnison
SnowpackEric Murrow · Apr 9, 2025 · Gunnison
Weather
Clear skies in the morning with a hazy atmosphere. Increasing scattered clouds in the afternoon. Light winds with moderate gusts above treeline midday. cloud cover: few
Snowpack
A solid freeze overnight provided safe travel conditions for much of the day through the early afternoon. The April Fool's meltdown crust remained supportive to skis even on below treeline sunny slopes at noon. The wind and high clouds helped tone down loose avalanche concerns at mid and upper elevations. In the afternoon, I dug a few holes near Elkton to check snowpack structures on east and northeast slopes. An east slope (11,000 feet) around 130 PM had 6 inches of wet snow resting on a thick, supportive-to-boots crust. Wet Loose avalanches seemed possible here. A northeast slope (11,600 feet) had a moist surface but no wet loose concerns. The lingering Persistent Slab issue in the upper snowpack produced moderate propagating results on the April Fool's Crust about a foot below the surface (see image). I would continue to assess the upper snowpack on northerly slopes at mid and upper elevations where you encounter a slab above a crust, as there could be a few slopes capable of producing a slab avalanche. A handful of recent loose avalanches around the area. Most appear to have failed in the past 48 hours.