Sangre de Cristo

Avalanche

Thomas Horner · Dec 9, 2014 · Sangre de Cristo

Weather

Perfectly clear skies. Moderate winds above treeline. Temperature just at freezing.

Snowpack

Above 13,000 feet, snow was almost non-existent except in shaded or concave areas. From 11,000 - 13,000 feet, snow was inconsistently distributed 1-2 feet deep. Below 11,000 feet, snow was less than a foot and often only six inches deep if present. Aspects: north faces holding any snow that is present. South faces almost entirely clear of snow on multiple mountains. A tiny storm that hit over the weekend only dusted the western-most peaks with snow. Much less snow in the Blanca massif than what was visible north towards the Crestones. Much of the snowpack we traveled through was a hard wind slab on unconsolidated crystals. It was easy to compromise this top layer and cause it to slide on the unconsolidated crystals, though we never encountered steep enough terrain that had enough snow to cause something larger. From 10,000-11,000 feet, the snow was only unconsolidated hoar. 11,000-12,000 feet often had 1-2 inches of wind slab on unconsolidated hoar. Snow above 12,000 feet was slightly more consolidated but also had very hard, thicker wind slab on top. No snowpits were dug. The snow was usually not deep enough to warrant one.

Avalanche

Most north facing slopes had slid at some point. Almost all the visible north-facing slopes had avalanche crowns across the entire terrain feature. Pretty much anything that can run has already done so.