Sawatch

Avalanche

Ian Hoyer · Jan 9, 2015 · Sawatch

View on map

Weather

Warm temperatures, blue skies, light winds.

Snowpack

Below Treeline: Almost no slab to speak of, 4fingers at the hardest, Fist in most places. Well developed facets. 1cm surface hoar on the surface. Above treeline: VERY scoured. Lots of bare ground. Only snow in cross-loaded gullies. Easily knife hard slabs. Near treeline: quickly transition from the below treeline to above treeline snowpack. Slabs developed quickly as soon as you approached a wind exposed ridgeline. Surface snow either soft or wind packed, warm temperatures don't seem to have had a huge effect.

Avalanche

Observed several ~3 day old Wet Loose avalanches and a more recent small Wind Slab avalanche.