Sawatch
AvalancheAnonymous · May 15, 2021 · Sawatch
Weather
It felt much warmer this morning than the previous few morning with less wind and clouds slower to move in. By about noon winds increased a little and clouds increased.
Snowpack
Good surface freeze over night. With the warm morning temps, the snow became soft quickly. I skied a northeast-facing slope above treeline slope at around 9 AM and the surface crust was already melted. The top few inches of the snow was moist and had not yet transitioned into melt forms. I think the past few days of moderate winds and more cloud cover has prevented this transition. Only minor rollerballs were encountered but I am not sure I would want to be on a northerly slope much later. I also climbed and skied a southerly slope around 11 AM. The upper snowpack was much more spring-like with larger melt forms and a very supportable upper to mid pack. Although I kicked off a few small rollerballs, none entrained much more snow as they rolled down.
Avalanche
None observed in the Mosquito Range