Gunnison

Snowpack

Crested Butte Avalanche Center · Mar 18, 2015 · Gunnison

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Weather

WEATHER: 0945 @ 10,000’ – Low angle, north aspect – Overcast, flurries, light wind, 4ºC, SkiPen: 5cm 1100 @ 10,800’ – Ridge – Broken sky, calm, 4ºC, SkiPen: 5cm, BootPen: 20cm 1230 @ 11,600’ – Top of Couloir – Overcast, S-1, light wind, 4ºC, SkiPen: 5cm, BootPen: 5cm 1400 @ 11,800’ – Top of second couloir – Overcast, S-1, light wind, 3ºC, SkiPen: 15cm, BootPen: 30cm (to ground)

Snowpack

SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: Skied moist and wet snow all day. Felt a few “whumpfs” in flat terrain as surface crust collapsed. When sun would break through for a moment a greenhouse effect could be felt and rollerballs and pinwheels would be present immediately. This was never prolonged. No other signs of instabilities. I probed during the entire climb of a north facing couloir. Average depth was less than a meter and it obviously slid quite a bit during the previous storm cycle. The snow is dense and consistent throughout the snowpack. Surface was “hot pow” and didn’t want to run down hill. On the way home, south aspects were completely isothermal and the north facing glades were wet.