Sawatch
AvalancheKreston Rohrig · Mar 21, 2025 · Sawatch
Weather
Sunny day with a few high, thin clouds and a light breeze at higher elevations. Snow surfaces started to warm and get moist around 11 am, even on northeast-facing slopes.
Snowpack
The snowpack and layering are similar to what we've seen in other areas. Three distinct persistent weak layers in the upper half of the snowpack date back to the Valentine's Day storm cycle. I got non-propagating scores on the 3/13 layer in the two pits I dug, pointing to this layer slowly healing. With hard blows from the shoulder, I was able to get a lower fracture on the 2/14 layer, which is still very evident. Overall, the snowpack was deeper than I had expected, with below treeline depths ranging from 100cm in the valley floor to 170cm around 11,000'. Still, these shallower snowpack areas and elevations had super weak, well-developed depth hoar in the lower portion of the snowpack, which is concerning. At higher elevations, I found 200-220cm of settled snowpack, and the basal facet layers were well bonded.
Avalanche
I only saw one small wind slab avalanche from the recent loading event.