Gunnison
AvalancheEric Murrow · Feb 24, 2025 · Gunnison
Weather
Mild temperatures with light winds at ridge top with a few moderate gusts. Cloud cover from the previous night kept overnight temps mild and some low elevation slopes barely refroze overnight. cloud cover: scattered; snow avail for transport: small smounts
Snowpack
Slabs above the drought layer are commonly 2 feet thick in this area. At lower elevations, a bit less, and at upper elevations, a bit more. I could produce collapses on my snowmobile below treeline in the area on the north side of the compass. Boot penetration in these areas often broke through the slab, making for a 'wallow-fest' while trying to unstick snowmobiles. We skied toured to 11,800 feet on easterly and a few northerly features. I quickly looked at a southeast feature at 11,600 feet, and meltwater had passed through a mostly dry slab to a thick melt/freeze crust below the Valentine slab. A test profile on an east slope (100 degrees) at 11,600 feet had meltwater and an ice lens in the slab. Extended Column Tests produced a propagating result after 14 and 21 in two tests (see image). Stomping around on this slope did not produce a collapse. I suspect meltwater will reach the drought layer when temperatures climb well above normal later this week. A test profile on a north slope at 11,800 feet, did not produce a propagating result in tests. However, once I removed a portion of the slab, it failed on the first tap on the midpack weak layer and the December drought layer (see image). This supports the idea that a triggered avalanche from a shallow spot on an upper-elevation slope could break in the middle of the snowpack and/or step down to deeper weak layers. Below treeline, around 10,000 - 10,500 feet, a few collapses were noted while snowmobiling on shady east and shady west aspects. As we climbed near treeline, I stomped around on easterly and northerly features without collapse.
Avalanche
Significant avalanche activity was noted in the East Brush Creek corridor on easterly aspects due to wind loading early last week after Valentine's stormy period and a handful of other peaks in the area. Images attached. Slides will be coded on Tuesday.