Sawatch
SnowpackJeremy Primmer · Jan 8, 2022 · Sawatch
Weather
Overcast in the morning, S-1 on and off with a few breaks in the clouds. Around 2 the cloud deck dropped and snowfall increased to S-2.
Snowpack
At the trailhead, I found a supportable melt-freeze crust from yesterday that got thinner as I climbed, and near the treeline, I only found it on southerly slopes and open slopes. There were some small rollerballs in steep terrain from yesterday. Under the crust was 50cms of soft snow with small 1mm facets at the bottom of the snowpack but no slab structure. Around 11500’, the snowpack became deeper and held a weak structure. There was depth hoar at the bottom of the snowpack with slabs from the holiday storm sitting on top, and the snow height was around 100cm. I did not see any signs of obvious instability or recent avalanche activity but got propagating results in ECTs with moderate force. At the upper end of the treeline and above it, the holiday storm slabs were pencil hard and considerably thicker. On easterly slopes, the snowpack was 130-260cm deep, depending on the wind loading. Other slopes were scoured clean. The slabs here were stubborn, but if they do fail, the stiff slabs will be able to communicate failure a long way.