Gunnison
AvalancheEric Murrow · Dec 14, 2021 · Gunnison
Weather
Broken skies for much of the day with a pleasant period of Few clouds around 2 pm. Winds were light below treeline and looked to be moderate at ridgetop, but no wind loading was observed.
Snowpack
Small Surface Hoar was present near valley bottom but 100 feet above cold sink Surface Hoar disappeared. Snow surface on shaded aspects near and below treeline was faceted but small-grained (.5mm). Around 11,000 feet and above soft, breaker wind-board appeared across the landscape. I experienced many localized collapses, but just a single, loud moderately sized collapse as I exited a northeast-facing profile site (see attached image) which produced many cracks across the slope. I avoided steep, wind-drifted terrain in the area and stuck to simple, lower-angled options. Snow depth on sunny slopes in the area was around 35cm and 70cm on shaded slopes. Ski penetration was generally around 6-8 inches and boot penetration was to the ground everywhere.
Avalanche
Noticeably less avalanche activity below treeline as compared to Northwest Mountains forecast area. Near treeline produced numerous avalanches on north and northeast aspects directly below ridgeline in wind-drifted areas on shaded aspects.