Gunnison

Avalanche

Steve Banks · Dec 15, 2019 · Gunnison

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Weather

Weather: 6-8” of new snow accumulation. Periods of S4 snowfall. Whiteout most of the day. Strong down valley (NW) winds which curiously shifted to up valley from time to time. Temps in the mid to upper 20’s. Around dusk the winds and snowfall tapered significantly.

Snowpack

Snowpack: Shooting cracks and collapse on small 36* East facing slope. Shovel tilt test failed repeatedly within the new snow while isolating or removing the column. Compression Test also failed on isolation (CTV) failing are the ground. Strong over weak structure observed, though in the location Basel facets were minimal and discontinuous. Most notable in our snow pit was the upside down new snow and storm slab failures.

Avalanche

Avalanches: None observed—poor visibility