Gunnison

Snowpack

Zach Guy · Feb 4, 2024 · Gunnison

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Weather

Storm totals ranged from 25 cm at valley floor to about 40 cm at higher elevations.

Snowpack

Drifted slopes were reactive here; evidenced by natural activity and audible collapses below 18" to 24" slabs. The last 6" or so of the storm fell without much wind, camouflaging the usual visual clues we use to identify drifted features. The most recent snow was also very sluffy, dozens of small loose dry avalanches ran last night and today with solar input. In wind-protected terrain below treeline, storm totals were about 12" and we didn't produce any obvious signs of instability on steep features except sluffing.