Grand Mesa
AvalancheBrandon Levy · Jan 26, 2021 · Grand Mesa
Weather
Broken to obscure skies gave way to overcast with light snowfall around 10 am. Winds shifted to more WSW but remained light as well.
Snowpack
The layer of near-surface facets from the dry spell prior to around 1/19/2021 is buried around 60cms deep in sheltered terrain above the Cliffs. This layer produced easy-moderate propagating results in long column tests (ECTP10 down 60cm on 2-4mm FC). A number of propagation saw tests on this layer and the persistent weak layers buried in December were very similar in that the saw cut was short and the slab above fractured while at the same time propagation occurred across the entire column. Regardless, the slabs above these persistent weak layers are soft or composed of faceted grains. Ski penetration was 35cms.
Avalanche
Several small micro slabs observed on the north side cutbanks both plow triggered and natural.