Sawatch

Avalanche

Jason Konigsberg · Dec 17, 2020 · Sawatch

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Weather

Wind loading was moderate to intense where I traveled, but looking around at the mountains there wasn't much moving snow. Mild day with overcast skies.

Snowpack

Collapsing, cracking, and recent avalanches near ridgetop and any wind-loaded terrain feature. Below treeline was very different with a soft snowpack throughout.

Avalanche

A few naturals observed around the Fremont Pass. Most were small slabs that ran the distance as the avalanche gouged into loose, cohesionless snow. One east-facing avalanche was large. It broke on faceted crystals about 45 cm from the surface and ran on a crust about 20 cm from the ground.