Gunnison

Avalanche

Zach Guy · Mar 20, 2025 · Gunnison

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Weather

There was about 3" of recent snow above the last meltfreeze crust below treeline. Winds increased to moderate speeds in the afternoon and we observed light drifting at ridgetop, with some larger plumes off of peaks in the Ruby Range. cloud cover: broken; wind loading: light; recent snowfall (cm): 8; snow avail for transport: small smounts

Snowpack

There's about 8" to 15" of settled snow in the past month since the Cupid Crusher; crowns and old skin tracks from our last visit on Feb 18th are still visible in wind sheltered terrain.  We got moderate propagating results on March weak layers, both BTL and NTL, and hard propagating results on depth hoar at the ground.  Slabs above the March weak layers are thin, soft, and poorly developed in sheltered terrain and were most concerning near ridgeline where winds have created thicker, stiffer slabs.  . No signs of instability under foot while breaking trail or targeting several suspect leeward features.

Avalanche

Limited natural avalanche activity in this area from the most recent storm cycle. We saw one partially drifted crown that could have run mid-wind event.