Grand Mesa
AvalancheBrandon Levy · Apr 2, 2021 · Grand Mesa
Weather
Warm and got warmer fast during the morning. A few clouds and light winds which shifted from southwest to more westerly were secondary to the ambient temperature and ample sunshine.
Snowpack
Despite temperature above freezing overnight there was a thin 2cm surface crust in all areas with a sky view on the generally north-facing slopes above the Cliffs on Grand Mesa at 10600'. Areas with more forest cover held soft, heavy snow. The crust was broken down by 1130 am. The snow structure is more homogenous than last sit visit on 3/24/2021 and the rounding depth hoar looks more like large-grained polycrystals. No notable results in long column tests (PST 83/100 END down 102cms on the 6mm rounding DH) and small column tests (CT22 BRK down 102 also). Water has not really started to penetrate into the snowpack on the north-facing slopes here below treeline on Grand Mesa. There was the surface crust which produced shooting cracks in the morning while it still was firm. Aside from that the snowpack was dry throughout.
Avalanche
Small and very small loose wet avalanches at Island Lake