Gunnison
AvalancheEric Murrow · Nov 29, 2024 · Gunnison
Snowpack
Settled Thanksgiving storm totals were around 2 feet in this area. The slab is mostly fist hard, increasing to 4-finger hard with a small amount of 1-finger hardness right at the bottom of the slab (see profile). We continually produced collapses and shooting cracks. Most slopes steeper than 35 degrees naturally avalanched, so there were fewer dangerous slopes in that area due to the previous avalanche activity. Near ridgetop winds had drifted over old crowns and may have reloaded some paths with a new slab after the original avalanche. Sheltered areas had less than a foot of soft refill since the avalanche cycle and did not appear to pose a threat. We collapsed most of the terrain we crossed today. We traveled on northeast and east slopes up to 11,200 feet. There were few intact steep slopes (most avalanched during the storm) in this area, so we didn't remotely trigger any avalanches; however, if you found an intact slope in this area, it would likely avalanche.
Avalanche
General summary of avalanches in the area. Around 3 large avalanches that failed near the ridgeline in the main start zone and a pile of small avalanches. There were avalanches on the majority of slopes over 35 degrees. There was also a mix of avalanche activity that had occurred early in the storm around 11/26 and avalanche activity that occurred late in the storm on 11/27