Sawatch
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Mar 13, 2019 · Sawatch
Weather
Relatively calm condition to start the day with blizzard-like conditions by 2 PM. Visibility dropped off significantly and blowing snow was intense.
Snowpack
New snow was easily cracking near treeline on leeward slopes. It seemed that wind slabs were reactive and depending on new snow amounts approaching large in size.
Avalanche
The avalanche I looked at ran on March 7, 2019 around 10 AM. The crown line is approximately a half mile wide. I went up the area known as Question Mark bowl which is only one portion of this slide path. The rest of the easterly-facing terrain and northerly part of the start zone avalanched as well. Crown height where I was is estimated at 10 feet. Visibility and blowing snow made travel extremely difficult. The avalanche knocked down trees in an estimated 7 acre area. Old trees were uprooted and medium sized trees were tossed into the air. This avalanche path has a completely different look now as do many along the Highway 91 corridor.