Gunnison
AvalancheAnonymous · Jan 1, 2025 · Gunnison
Snowpack
We traveled on east and northeast slopes below treeline in the Elk Creek drainage. The Holiday slab is generally 2 feet thick in sheltered areas. The rime crust from this weekend is down about 3-5 inches. We dug a single test profile on an east slope at 10,500 feet and found propagating test results on basal facets from the December dry spell (two thin crusts above the facets seemed to help drive long-running collapses). Another significant finding is that this site had a skiff of recent drifting (6 dense inches) and produced an ECTP 11 below the rime/melt-freeze crust.
Avalanche
We remotely triggered all avalanches from the ridge above. We didn't stomp on the snowpack or try to get near the steep breakovers. Collapsing was continuous throughout the tour and often connected to the steep terrain below. Even in this short vertical terrain, generally only 400 feet, avalanches gain enough volume to hurt or bury a person.