Gunnison

Snowpack

Ben Pritchett · Apr 22, 2020 · Gunnison

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Weather

Quick warm up after early AM low clouds burned off. Late morning few clouds, then around noon the PM build-up began with isolated convective showers firing by 1pm.

Snowpack

Sunny snow surfaces below 11,000' had gone through muliple wet cycles. Between 11,000-12,000' southerly surfaces were small clustered rounded grounds which had only wetted once, with light faceting. Above 12,000' all snow surfaces were dry and lightly faceted. Peaking into the northerly Red Well Basin. Surface snow was faceted and weak, resting on the early April hard crusts. No avalanche problem at the 4/16 interface. Previously reactive slabs were faceted through and weak. Small isolaed pockets of stiffer wind-drifted snow, but no substantial slab development.