Gunnison
AvalancheAnonymous · Feb 14, 2023 · Gunnison
Weather
S1-S2 grapple snow with swirling moderate West/Southwest winds and pelting grapple throughout the day. Visibility variable to poor at times.
Snowpack
HS 180cm, up from 165cm on Sunday at 10,500 feet. 3cm new snow on skin track at start. Small test slopes showed the grapples propensity for surface slough in the new snow over a firm but edgeable base. Small test slopes showed that the grapple ran easily and far over the old snow surface. This grapple layer may be an issue in the future once buried by developing wind slab, or becoming a cohesive slab itself with more depth.
Avalanche
Large slough intentionally triggered with ski cut at top of West facing 40 degree slope. 10 meters wide and 15cm deep. This slough produced a small powder cloud and ran to the bottom of the slope. No cracking observed in and around the start zone/track. This was an intentionally triggered slough to test for surface instabilities and to "clean" the line for safe passage.