Gunnison
SnowpackZach Guy · Apr 1, 2014 · Gunnison
Weather
Extreme winds from SSW, increased into the 40’s with gusts up to 84 mph. Moderate to intense snow transport. Temps rose to 26F at 10k and were steady in the mid teen’s at 12k. Overcast skies with a few showers of very light snowfall (S-1).
Snowpack
Last night’s 3†of new snow fell on melt-freeze forms or dusty melt-freeze forms on all E to S to W aspects. Moderate drifting near and above treeline, with isolated drifts up to 10†deep. Isolated crossloaded windslabs (3-10†deep, becoming 4F by midday) and fresh cornices from southerly loading patterns on above treeline terrain facing E and W. Touchy to ski cuts or easy cracking underfoot, becoming stiffer and more stubborn by PM. Most of these slopes were scoured, evidenced by the red crust at the surface except for the easy to ID white windslabs. Stability test near treeline on a west aspect showed non-propagating, Q3 failures on the 3/26 (4" deep) and 3/30 (20" deep) interfaces, which each had dust layers above.