Gunnison

Avalanche

(public) Crested Butte Avalanche Center · Feb 1, 2020 · Gunnison

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Weather

Very gusty winds, Moderate temperatures, cloudy skies becoming clear after noon.

Snowpack

South facing aspects had a crust, with active wind loading, creating slabs up to 1 foot thick by noon.

Avalanche

Multiple natural wind slab avalanches were releasing on south facing convex rollovers that had a crust. Wind slabs were releasing anywhere from 2 inches to 12 inches thick. Our party also triggered a wind slab while skinning uphill in low angle rolling terrain. These avalanches only ran up to 40 feet, not a lot of energy and not enough snow to bury a person, but enough to knock a person off their feet.