Sawatch

Snowpack

Jason Konigsberg · Nov 11, 2018 · Sawatch

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Weather

Light snow this morning around Leadville 1.5" around town and about the same east of town. Winds were calm below treeline but increased above treeline with a sustained 15 to 20 mph bitter easterly wind.

Snowpack

We only traveled on southerly slopes. On low-angle slopes we found a faceted upper snowpack underneath the inch of new snow. On steeper slopes we observed a 1 inch melt-freeze crust with significant faceting underneath. The snow depth (HS) is about 30 to 45 cms.--- On the drive out I looked at a steep below-treeline, north-facing mine dump and found a 30 cm deep snowpack that was faceted top to bottom.