Sawatch
AvalancheKreston Rohrig Austin DiVesta · Mar 5, 2025 · Sawatch
Weather
A little greybird to start the day, but the sunshine prevailed and scattered clouds made for a pleasant day.
Snowpack
We traveled on numerous aspects and elevations and found a generally shallow and weak snowpack for this time of year. First, we tested a wind-drifted slope on a southeast aspect to assess the new slab thickness and reactivity. It sheared in a layer within the slab but was well bonded to the surface below. In this area, it seemed triggering an avalanche in the new snow would be less likely. Northerly slopes told a different story. The slab formed around Valentine's Day varies in hardness thickness, but is generally 30cm thick and four finger to one finger in hardness. It sits on weak layers of facets and depth hoar, and failed near the ground in stability tests. Triggering a larger Persistent Slab avalanche is still on the menu in these areas, and will become more problematic if we receive a big load of snow.
Avalanche
We saw a few old crown lines, but they were from a previous cycle. The most recent avalanche I saw was a cornice failure that likely occurred last weekend during the warmup.