Sawatch
AvalancheJason Konigsberg, Ethan Greene · Nov 29, 2020 · Sawatch
Weather
No wind, no clouds, temperatures not too warm and not too cold. Perfect.
Snowpack
Below treeline the snowpack is faceted from top to bottom. The snowpack is still somewhat supportable to skis. In most places near treeline there is a hard supportable slab about 15 cm below the surface. Similar to most northerly slopes in the Sawatch zone, there is about 10 cm of 1-2 mm facets near the ground. In shallower places, and there are many in this area, the basal facets are larger and beginning to change to depth hoar. We got numerous small collapses while traveling on a north to northeast-facing slope. While descending a 34 degree slope, we got a larger whumpf and shooting cracks.--- We did not observe sluffing or signs that Loose Dry avalanches.--- Near surface facets (0.5 mm) are widespread across the old snow surface and we found surface hoar (1-2 mm) in places.
Avalanche
None observed