Sawatch
AvalancheRich Rogers · Jan 10, 2024 · Sawatch
Weather
Overcast with moments of obscure sky cover, times when visibility would drop to under 100ft, S1, 6-8ºF, moderate-strong Westerly winds.
Snowpack
Newly and recently drifted snow was a few inches to 3 ft deep. Sheltered aspects had uniform drifts giving it a, mostly, planar look on the surface. Skis would penetrate, on average, 38cm. Deepest ski pen. I experienced was 62cm. New and recent slabs were F to 1F- on the hand hardness scale. Old drifts were pencil- 'ski edge' hard. Snowpack test scores showed new/recent snow would fail, easily, under compression but would not propagate within small column tests. A quick pit profile in media. As I traveled on a low angle slope, back towards the scoured ridge to look at steeper terrain, I felt a collapse and remotely triggered 2 avalanches in the steeper terrain. More detail in avalanche obs. and photos in media.
Avalanche
Both avalanches occurred in concave features. See details and photos