Gunnison
AvalancheEric Murrow · Mar 30, 2023 · Gunnison
Weather
Mostly cloudy skies with moderate winds through 2pm. Snowfall and strong SSW winds started around 3pm.
Snowpack
HS through this low-elevation terrain typically ranged from 90 to 120cm outside of drifted terrain. A quick profile on a south-southeast slope at 9,100 feet showed a strong structure with ice columns to the ground which indicated meltwater has made its way through the entire snowpack (this strong structure is not common throughout the greater forecast area). A profile into the bed surface of the intentionally trigger slide, on a drifted northwest slope, showed a 10″ thick crust/ice column matrix resting about 2 feet of depth hoar. Surface conditions on northerly features were a thin melt/freeze crust with 6 inches of faceted snow below.
Avalanche
One slab avalanche that ran in the upper snowpack that likely failed during warming a few days ago on low elevation east slope. Intentionally triggered a Windslab on a small northwest-facing slope near valley bottom, this feature has an abnormally huge fetch. Wind Slab was resting above 1mm facets above a crust.