Grand Mesa
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Mar 6, 2016 · Grand Mesa
Weather
Low clouds and light snow. Southwest to west winds were moving a fair bit of snow and creating some drifts and small cornices along the road. Snow turned to rain at the Powderhorn turn-off, ~9,000'.
Snowpack
4" of heavy snow on the 24 hour stake. Roads were mostly wet. The new snow was not bonding well to the old snow surface on the shady aspects along the Rim. Plenty of rollerballs and tiny loose snow releases along the road. Warm snow and winds will likely create some slabs on recently formed FCsf on northerly aspects. Plenty of snow left in the paths to create good bed surfaces on N aspects. Surprisingly good coverage remains in the Island Lake area, although the old snow surface is a rough m/f crust, and bonding should be better here.
Avalanche
Tiny sluffs near the rain/snow line, otherwise, no activity.