Grand Mesa
AvalancheColin Mitchell ยท Feb 16, 2017
Weather
Bluebird with a brisk westerly wind. Some high thin clouds and haze in the distance towards the La Sals.
Snowpack
The south-facing Headwall is almost completely melted out, although enough snow remains to produce full-depth wet slides that could conceivably reach the road. Northerly aspects have seen a lot of consolidation over the past few weeks. HS is between 10 and 30 inches. Winds have redistributed the snow on these aspects to the point where we have bare ground showing in many areas and other areas are covered with hard drifts of variable depths. A profile at the top of the north-facing avalanche terrain showed a spring-like snowpack composed of a thick melt-freeze crust at the surface, and a variety of crusts and rounding facets below that. The 1/19 surface hoar layer also exists here. Considering how the winds rake Douglas pass, it was a surprise to see it preserved in the snowpack. Other areas sheltered from southerly winds may also hold this layer. Some concerns remain with the poor structure, but overall the snowpack is setting up well, and appears largely dormant. No results on snowpack tests.
Avalanche
No activity of any kind observed.