Grand Mesa
AvalancheBrandon Levy · Nov 27, 2022 · Grand Mesa
Weather
Calm and cool this morning on Grand Mesa. The sky cover was obscured at times but generally broken with 2 to 3 inches of new snow in the form of sparkling stellars with some graupel.
Snowpack
A snow profile in a wind affected area on the brow of the Cliffs near Cliffs #5 revealed a thin degrading slab over really fragile and weak chains of faceted grains. I was unable to excavate a clean profile wall because the faceted crystals poured out into the pit. Ski penetration was variable ranging from 25 to 5 cms. At previsouly drifted locations ski penetration was 5 cms while foot penetration was 50cm. Even in non-wind affected areas i observed localized cracking around my skis which is a testament to the fragility of the snowpack when 2 to 3 inches of new snow is just different and cohesive enough to produce localized cracks.
Avalanche
Previous very small loose dry avalanches occured at Cliffs #6