Gunnison

Avalanche

Zach Kinler Eric Murrow · Apr 5, 2020 · Gunnison

Weather

Mostly cloudy skies through midday gave way to Partly Cloudy skies in the afternoon. Warming trend continued although clouds and continued SW winds maintained a cool feel near and above tree line. Freezing level rose above 11K.

Snowpack

Spent the morning on the southern half of the compass near and above tree line monitoring snow surfaces for warming. Moderate SW winds and cloud cover combined to keep surfaces cool where small amounts of dry snow was observed drifting at 12,000?. Similar elevations in more wind-protected areas showed signs of warming with a few small loose wet avalanches observed. The warmth was felt while moving lower in elevation and into sheltered areas in the afternoon with moist snow on all wind-sheltered aspects. Steep southerlies near and below treeline had a couple inches of wet recent snow on a weak and moist crust from last week which had all but broken down. Triggering a Wet Loose avalanche on these slopes was possible. Northerly aspects had a few inches of moist snow leading to lots of rollerballs and pinwheels. Roller balls were observed on northeast aspect of Axtel up to 11,900?. Additional warming of these slopes will make triggering Wet Loose avalanches possible.

Avalanche

Numerous Wet Loose and a couple Cornice falls