Sawatch
AvalancheVincent Mortillaro ยท Apr 23, 2021
Weather
Alternating between sunny and clear to heavy winds / snow. Switching from low vis to clear. Cross col. East / northeast facing. 14,000 ft.
Snowpack
New snow / wind loading had occurred from the top to the middle of the col. Right side of col. also had wind loading.
Avalanche
Wind slabs were breaking in the coliour on our way down. Roughly 4-5 inches deep. I realized the problem as soon as I made my first turn and radioed to my partner. We carefully made our way down avoiding the heaviest wind loaded areas of the col.