Sawatch

Avalanche

Jon Christensen · Apr 11, 2021

View on map

Weather

High wind blowing north east into the couloir we skid.

Snowpack

Just above tree line on the west slopes, we came across very evident wind slab on facets and thin snowpack overall. Broke through easily with every step. Didn’t feel comfortable skiing as our original objective. Ended up skiing north east couloir off la plata ridge at 13k at noon. Still really firm snow and great conditions to be skiing steep lines. No roller balls seen.

Avalanche

No signs of recent wet slides. Across valley to the west it looked as if a cornice had broken days prior and trigger small slide at 12-13k.