Gunnison

Snowpack

Zach Guy · Jan 25, 2012 · Gunnison

Weather

clear. Moderate N winds with powder plumes on all ridgelines ATL.

Snowpack

Dug a test pit on a somewhat representative slope of the avalanche that occurred in the NE bowl of Mt. Owen during the Jan 21 cycle. Pit @ 12200 ft, NE aspect, ~ 30 degrees. The interface between the Jan 21 storm snow and an older windslab appeared to be bonded well now, with no results in a CT or DT. The interface was approximately 90 cm deep. HS was 230 cm; there is still weak snow near the bottom identified with a probe, but we didn't investigate this layer. The new snow from Jan 23 was approximately 30 cm deep and upside-down from today's winds. This new windslab shows easy initiation in stability tests and ski cuts, with small, thin slabs propagating no more than 10m on a preserved layer of stellar dendrites.