Sawatch

Avalanche

Ethan Greene ยท Mar 8, 2015

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Weather

The morning had mostly clear skies with very temperatures. Ridgetop winds were clam. Clouds began to build around noon with mostly cloudy skies by 2pm.

Snowpack

The snow was blown clean off of the ridgeline with the usual hard wind drifts for the first 100' of vertical on the WNW side. Once below treeline, sun exposure dictated the surface conditions. Small aspect changes made a large difference. NW slopes remained dry with loose, soft snow on the surface. The surface on Wly and SW slopes was damp before noon. Many had crusts from previous days, but some low-angle slopes that had dry snow in the morning formed crusts by mid-afternoon.

Avalanche

Three old avalanches that could have released on March 3rd. The largest was on the NE side of Monarch Ridge, below the radio towers. Two smaller on a Nly flank of Mount Peck.