Gunnison
AvalancheBen Pritchett and Eric Murrow · Jan 7, 2025 · Gunnison
Weather
Chilly, partly cloudy, and calm.
Snowpack
We found a touchy slab over weak layer combination in all the terrain we covered, above around 9,800 feet. We measured 2.6 inches of snow water equivalent in the Holiday Slab, which is similar to snotel amounts in other parts of the Central Mountains with a dangerous Persistent Slab problem. The slab was around 1 to 2 feet thick, and the December drought layer remains fist hard below that slab.
Avalanche
We saw numerous recent natural avalanches that were "repeaters," sliding in paths that released previously in the Thanksgiving avalanche cycle. We saw the crown of one large avalanche over a ridge on an east-facing slope off Hunter Hill that we think did not avalanche previously, and so the crown was much deeper than other avalanches in the area.