Sawatch
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Dec 7, 2019 · Sawatch
Weather
Some snow drifting at ridegtop but not any further down slope. Sky cover increased throughout the day from mostly clear to overcast by late afternoon.
Snowpack
I traveled from about 10,500 to a litte over 12k on mostly east-facing slopes. Cracking and collapsing was observed at all elevations. Below treeline the snowpack is still not deep enough in most places for avalanches but it is getting very close and the upper end of below treeline is about there. Near treeline the snowpack is 60 to 70 cm with deeper drifted areas. I avoided any steep near treeline slope. An extended column test produced propagating results on 11 taps at 25 cm up from the ground. ---Overall the coverage in the greater Indy Pass area is sufficient for large avalanches, especially with additional loading. The westerly winds around Thanksgiving really filled in a lot of easterly features and cross loaded northerly slopes. Although the weak snowpack is not uncommon for this time of year, I feel like the greater coverage of thick slabs is much different than previous early seasons, making for potentially more dangerous conditions and larger avalanches with a significant loading event.---Southerly slopes are very thin with high start zones showing as much rock as snow. Southerly slopes near treeline with snow coverage have thick surface crusts.
Avalanche
No recent avalanches observed. A couple older ones that I am guessing are at least a week old.