Gunnison

Snowpack

Group of three toured up to ski Little Schuylkill around noon. Dug a pit at 2pm. Air temp. 22* F. Snowing heavily, 1" or more per hour. Slope angle 35*. HS 115 cm. New snow 14 cm. A knife hard crust at 99 cm with surface hoar under the crust on top of styrofoam like snow. Another more prominent crust at 78 cm. All tests failed at this level. Facets from 78 cm to the ground. CT 2. ECT 9. Shovel Shear-STV Q2 released while placing shovel. We felt uneasy about the snowpack and skied down keeping eye contact on our partners. Multiple cracks, collapsing, and whumphing on our way down. A previous party set off a small slide/pocket about 30 meters across the hillside from us, running 30-40 meters. The new snow made for fun fluffy turns and we were able to stay on top of the crust and ski down without incident.