Gunnison
SnowpackJohn MacKinnon · Mar 19, 2013 · Gunnison
Weather
Afternoon tour on Mt. Emmons. Overcast skies with high thin clouds gave way to broken skies with high thin clouds. Warm temps near and below treeline, but it stayed cool up high. Winds were moderate above 12,000 feet with some stronger gusts. Winds remained light near and below treeline. Observed no blowing snow.
Snowpack
Steep exposed sunny slopes near and below treeline were becoming moist in the PM. Snow surface stayed dry above treeline. Lower angled east facing slopes below treeline had even developed a thin crust by early afternoon. Observed ~15 cm of this weekend's storm in an area sheltered from snow and wind at 11,000 feet. Above treeline, winds have scoured and drifted snow into a mix of sastrugi, deep and dense drifts and bare ground. NW fetches are totally scoured. Triggered one very small soft slab avalanche on a steep SW aspect near TL at 2 pm. SS-ASu-R1-D1-I. It slid on stout melt-freeze crust. Crown ~15 cm, ran ~ 3 meters wide and downhill ~15 meters. The recent storm snow had become moist. The debris closely resembled a loose wet slide.