Grand Mesa
AvalancheMatt Huber · Jan 25, 2020 · Grand Mesa
Weather
Warm temperatures, filtered sunshine and sticky snow by late morning. No wind conditions made travel feel even warmer.
Snowpack
Ski penetretaion improved significantly after the last storm, with most slopes supportable and skis penetrating only 10-30 centimeters. The snowpack is generally between 110-130 centimeters deep at 10,700 feet. On southeast-facing slopes, the January 9 layer has lost most reactivity but the December 24 facet/crust combination still produces moderate propagating Extended Column Test results, ECTP19. On northeast-facing slopes, the December 24 facet layer is not propagating but still producing moderate ECT results and compression tests with resistant planar shear quality. A very thin crust formed on northely aspects, getting more robust as aspects became more solar, straight south aspects had a breakable 2-3cm crust at the surface.
Avalanche
A few small loose wet point releases from below the cliffs on southerly facing slopes along Crags Crest. These were shallow and ran on a supportive melt-freeze crust about 10 cm from the surface.