Sawatch

Avalanche

Ian Hoyer ยท Feb 1, 2017

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Weather

Very warm day. Strong west winds in the alpine. Clear skies until some clouds moved in at ~3pm.

Snowpack

Westerly slopes scoured above TL, except for some cross-loaded pockets. Strong winds were actively blowing snow around, but most seemed to be sublimating rather than being depositing. Quickly transitioned to little/no wind affect below treeline. Most recent snow had settled to ~8 inches on St Elmo side of the Pass, 4-6 inches near Taylor Park. Found surface hoar underneath this new snow on several aspects on both sides of the pass, but no slab above it. Snow depth dropped quickly on Taylor Park side of the range, down to around 1 m. Lower snowpack much more faceted and weaker than elsewhere in the zone. Surface hoar at surface on shadier slopes, 2 cm sun crust on S-SW slopes.

Avalanche

No avalanches observed along route. Also used binoculars to look up Taylor Park towards American Flag/Italian Mtn and the west side of the Sawatch, with no avalanches observed.