Sawatch

Snowpack

John Holm ยท Feb 25, 2012

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Weather

Clear as I observed the slides, but previous several days had brought a foot of snow and high west-northwest winds.

Snowpack

Variable and windloaded. I've noticed several natural releases on the east/southeast slopes of the Mt Zion/Buckeye Peak ridge south of Fremont Pass. The 'question mark chute' (visible heading towards Leadville) slid sometime Tuesday 21 Feb; the crown was clearly visible under the cornice on the ridgetop. There were several more lower down in elevation Thursday/Friday; one of these started in a steep chute above the Chalk Falls parking lot and ran through trees almost to the bottom of the slope near the highway. [Avalanches recorded in another ob]