Gunnison
SnowpackZach Guy · Feb 23, 2013 · Gunnison
Weather
Broken to Overcast, light flurries in the morning, periods of moderate snow in the afternoon. 2†accumulation. SW winds 10-20 mph, with gusts to 32. Light snow transport on peaks. Temps rose to 20°F at 10,000 ft and 12°F at 12,000 ft.
Snowpack
On SW and W aspects above treeline, snow is mostly unaffected by winds, but not as loaded in as the rest of the lower elevation terrain. In general 4-8†of low density snow in the upper start zones, increasing in depth lower down to about 12†over old interfaces. There are isolated pockets of stiffer snow crossloaded from NW winds, producing shallow (3-5â€) and small windslabs (ranging from 4F+ to 1F-). On SE aspects above treeline, 3†of fluff on the 2/21 MFcr crust, with another 4†of DF’s above the more stout 2/20 MFcr. Avalanches: Explosive control and ski cuts in areas untouched since Wednesday's storm. No results or signs of instability on SE aspects above treeline. On SW and W aspects above treeline, control teams triggered a couple shallow windslabs on cross loaded west aspects; small and isolated pockets that wouldn't knock you off your feet unless maybe you were on snow blades.