Gunnison

Avalanche

Crested Butte Avalanche Center · Jan 2, 2015 · Gunnison

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Weather

Clear and calm all day.

Snowpack

Widespread surface hoar layer on all aspects and elevations. Needle-like, up to 3 or 4 mm at the higher elevations, decreased in size with decreasing elevation. A thin crust formed on steep southerly aspects.

Avalanche

2 lb handshot initiated a persistent slab avalanche on a West aspect above treeline. Roughly 3 to 4 feet deep, ran ~1,000 feet. Mostly on Dec 13th interface. SS-AE-R4-D3-O. An airblast on a similar aspect produced a shallower slide, ~10" deep that entrained enough snow to bury someone. SS-AB-R2-D2-U