Sawatch
SnowpackRon Simenhois, Jason Konigsberg · Nov 19, 2020 · Sawatch
Weather
Warm (>0 C) with clear skies in the last 4 days
Snowpack
A reactive fist-hard, faceted basal layer exists below treeline on northeast aspects. We are seeing depth hoar develop near the ground on these slopes up to 4 mm in size. This layer is reactive with localized whumpfing in spots. The slab is mostly discontinuous though. Collapses were small and only in about 30 feet wide. We did not find this layer on southeast aspects. Near treeline on an east-facing slope, we found a wind slab at the top of the snowpack with a four-finger hard facet layer at the bottom of the snowpack. See snowpit for more details.---Overall the avalanche problem is isolated and it is hard to find all the right ingredients to trigger an avalanche. It would still be best to avoid steep wind-loaded areas, especially those that face north or northeast.---We looked at the snow coverage thinking ahead to our next round of storms, whenever that may be. The snow coverage is continuous on all east and northeast facing slopes near and above treeline and also on northerly near-treeline slopes. East-facing slopes are extremely thin except in small areas of wind loading. If the surface isn't wind hardened, the snowpack has weakened significantly. Avalanches will be easy to trigger on northerly and east-facing slopes, especially near treeline with any significant load. Besides the above-mentioned slopes, coverage is very thin. See attached photos for additional snow coverage details.