Sawatch
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Jan 12, 2019 · Sawatch
Weather
Cloud cover was mostly broken with times of partly cloudy and sun. Convective cloud build up just produced a couple flurries.
Snowpack
Collapsing, cracking, recent avalanches and easy results in extended column tests. This was all near treeline. Below treeline the snowpack is still soft and shallow.--- The weak snowpack is not handling the 6 to 8 inches of dense snow very well. In places that weren't previously wind loaded the slab is thin and the snowpack depth is 90 cm with the weakest layer at 35 cm down. Avalanches in these areas will be on the small side.---Previously wind loaded areas are a different story and from recent avalanche activity in the area it seems it was enough to tip the balance.---Besides the increase in reactivity due to the dense new snow, this new snow will help any future avalanches with additional loading propagate widely. The new snow is evenly distributed across terrain. Unless of course it facets first.
Avalanche
In the basin south of the Sangree Froelicher hut there was a large avalanche that broke in old snow and at the ground in places. This terrain feature was only 100 vertical feet but the avalanche piled up deep debris as the crown was estimated at 500 feet wide and broke 3 feet deep with a portion breaking 6 feet deep. The weak layer was mid pack facets except in the deeper section where it was depth hoar. The avalanche was impressive for a small terrain feature but what was even more impressive was the extensive cracking to the south of this avalanche and cracking towards smaller avalanches thousands of feet away. The collapse of the weak layer in this basin must have been massive. Widespread weak layer is obvious. Places where the slab is thickest from previous wind loading are highly suspect. Other places are just waiting for more of a slab. The other interesting thing about the large avalanche was the 8 inches of new snow was evenly distributed at the top of the crown from end to end. This shows there wasn't much wind loading and the weight of the new snow was enough to cause this natural avalanche.