Sawatch
AvalancheKreston Rohrig · Mar 18, 2018 · Sawatch
Weather
Clouds were building over the western ridge of the Sawatch before noon. The sky became mostly covered by mid-day, but little to no precipitation was observed. Winds were light at ridgetop from the SW. Light squalls of graupel were observed in Leadville around 4:00pm, but no accumulation.
Snowpack
Steeper southerly faces were warm but not wet when the sun was out and turned crusty once the clouds set in. Above-treeline on northerly slopes, evidence of recent wind-loading was observed. Small to large cornices have built on leeward ridges. Below the cornices dense slabs of wind-drifted snow ranged from 4 to 8 inches. These new slabs were well bonded to the old snow surface which was very hard and difficult to probe. Lower down on north facing slopes where the slab disappeared, the structure was weak and thin.
Avalanche
Two very small Wind Slab avalanches and one small cornice fall avalanche were observed on north facing slopes