Gunnison

Avalanche

Ben Pritchett · Dec 4, 2018 · Gunnison

Weather

Cool day. Winds continued to move snow for most of the day below alpine ridges.

Snowpack

Near and below treeline we found very little evidence of Persistent Slab avalanche structure on south and southwest aspects. Generally on these aspects, the snow that has fallen since Thanksgiving rests on the ground. There are patchy remnants of pencil hard sun-baked crusts that do not make a continuous weak layer. Above treeline, the crusts below the Thanksgiving snow become more continuous on wind-drifted features. Southeast aspects have a buried crust facet combo at the Thanksgiving interface. Sunny west facing slopes are similar to south and southwest, but shady west slopes hold a buried crust facet combo 20-40cm above the ground.

Avalanche

Saw two natural avalanches that ran while in the field today. Both failed in areas with active loading.