Sawatch
SnowpackBo Torrey · Nov 19, 2020 · Sawatch
Weather
Clear sky, warm sunshine, and light breeze.
Snowpack
The snowpack depth ranged from 20-60cm in most areas around Monarch Pass. The warm temperatures have helped to consolidate the snowpack and add a bit of body to the snow making it more supportable. The warm temperatures also helped to keep a lid on the near surface facet development in the area. I did find some radiation recrystallization under a thin crust on a west aspect. Structurally, the snowpack is still weak on north and northeast aspects but I did not have propagation in any of my snowpits that faced east or northeast. On a due north facing slope I had ECTP 11 on the basal facets. I experienced 3 localized collapses during my travels today. The snowpack is structurally weak but the reason we are not seeing large avalanches is because the weak layer near the ground is not continuous through slopes. The spotty distribution is what's preventing avalanches from breaking wide. You could still trigger an avalanche on a due north aspect but it would be relatively small.