Sawatch
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Apr 10, 2023 · Sawatch
Weather
Warm and mostly calm. Above treeline was still staying cool with a light breeze.
Snowpack
Basal layers are seeing are moist and meltwater is moving all the way through the snowpack at low elevations. There isn't good drainage established so weak layers are becoming wet and weak. This is also true near treeline on southerly slopes where the snowpack is only about 1 meter deep. I looked at an east-facing slope near treeline and found a different story. This slope was a little deeper at 130 cm and meltwater was only down a few inches as of 10 AM. There are multiple crusts in the upper snowpack limiting further meltwater penetration. With a warm night on Monday night and very warm temperatures on Tuesday, I expect crusts in the upper snowpack to disintegrate with meltwater pooling on crusts or saturating deeper, basal layers.