Sawatch

Snowpack

Ben Pritchett · Jan 1, 2020 · Sawatch

View on map

Weather

Two distinct storm pulses. One stronger precipitation pulse mid-day that dropped a quick 3", and a second windier but less snowy late afternoon one with another 1-2".

Snowpack

Around Fremont Pass, there is a layer of very weak near surface facets (Fist-) about 5 inches below the current snow surface. These several inches of soft recent snow above the weak layer are not enough to cause any slab avalanche problems yet, but I would expect fast running sloughs on slopes approaching 40 degrees. With another 3/4" of snow water equivalent, I would expect to see shallow Storm Slab avalanches become a concern. Winds drifted the recent snow into shallow slabs, that will be reactive on Thursday.