Sawatch

Avalanche

John Mackinnon ยท Mar 29, 2014

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Weather

FEW clouds--mostly high thin clouds--and moderate to strong westerly winds at ridge-tops. Observed steady transport onto easterly aspects above 12K for most of the day. Strong solar radiation and mild temperatures even above TL.

Snowpack

Recent storm snow has settled to ~20 cm on E and W aspects BTL. I did notice lots of settlement cones on west aspects from 11,100 to 11,500. Despite the settlement, the upper snowpack underwent some surface faceting after last night's chilly temps. Upper snowpack stayed dry on WSW aspects from 12,200 ft down to about 11,500. Below 11,500, the upper snowpack became moist by 1300. We also observed moist snow on easterly aspects in the afternoon between 11,600 and 11,100 feet. Later in the afternoon, we could feel a faint "zipper crust" forming on the east facing slopes that had already gone into the shade.

Avalanche

Observed several small (D1) and three larger (D1.5) loose dry avalanches on steep east aspects above TL. I noticed that the D1.5 Loose Dry avalanches were sliding on a dust layer. All observed slides broke off the east side of the ridge that goes from Buckeye Peak to Pt. 12254 above Buckeye Lake. Slides looked to be 48 hours old.