Sawatch
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Feb 23, 2022 · Sawatch
Weather
It was snowing 2" per hour at times. Cold with truck thermometer reading -2 deg F at 10 Am and 9 deg F at 3 PM. Storm total is 12 to 14 inches so far. Winds were light and there wasn't much evidence of drifting below treeline until we got to ridgetop at about 11,00 feet.
Snowpack
The snowpack in this area is shallow, yet supportable to snowmobiles. The snow depth is about 120 cm below and near treeline and much shallower on southerly slopes (about 90 cm). The new snow of about 30 cm composes at least 25% of the entire snowpack. We did not find signs of instability with the basal weak layers in any tests. The faceted layer beneath the new snow was a different story. Extensive shooting cracks and pieces of the slab would break off if we rode above each others tracks. We did a few extended column tests (ECT) in sheltered areas to see if the slab was cohesive enough to communicate a fracture in the weak layer. On a northeast-facing slope, we got a result of ECTP2. On an east-facing slope, we got a result of ECTPV, meaning we could not even isolate the column without the block popping off. On east-facing slopes, the faceted layer sits below a 4 cm thick, but fragile, melt-freeze crust 36 cm from the surface. East-facing slopes are the scariest! In these tests, it was surprising how easily cracks propagated in sheltered areas where the storm slab was fist-hard from top to bottom. In sheltered areas we did not encounter "slabby" snow as people commented on the snow feeling yesterday. We also dug on a southeast-facing slope near treeline. This snowpit was quite different and it was hard to collapse the much stronger and thicker crust below the slab of storm snow. The storm was also bonded well to this crust. The bottom line is the snowpack is very touchy. It would be easy for a skier or snowmobiler to trigger an avalanche on any steep north or easterly slope.
Avalanche
None observed but we didn't travel in much avalanche terrain and visibility was limited.