Sawatch
SnowpackRohan Roy · Apr 6, 2013 · Sawatch
Weather
Sunny and warm, strong gusty winds above treeline.
Snowpack
Powdery and supportable on steep, sheltered north aspects, frozen crust on sunny aspects. No sign of instability in trees, but still a deep layer of facets near the ground. Above treeline the snow was unsupportable while climbing on shallower snow near the ridge, with multiple large collapses and shooting cracks on NW aspects. Highly variable loading in N bowls seemed suspect for triggering slabs from shallow areas of snowpack on wind scoured aspects and around rocks. North aspects at 12,000ft showed the same problems we've seen all winter, no sign of snowpack consolidation here. Skied SE aspect on great corn snow rather than north aspects.