Sawatch
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Oct 29, 2023 · Sawatch
Weather
16 to 18 inches of storm snow. Winds were light and temperatures in the twenties.
Snowpack
The storm snow is right-side up with denser snow near the ground and lighter snow near the surface. I did not observe any cracking or other signs of instability within the storm snow. I traveled on northerly slopes below and near treeline so not in places where there was older, faceted snow. The Fremont Pass area (and Mosquito Range) received less snow in earlier storms than places like the main Sawatch so there is less old snow in general though I am sure you could find older basal layers up around 13,000 feet on northerly slopes. There was no indication of wind loading, past or present, as westerly (normally stripped) slopes are holding snow.