Sawatch

Avalanche

Payton Schiff · Jan 11, 2023 · Sawatch

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Weather

S-1 to S1 throughout the day, mod-strong winds (especially strong ATL), and decreasing temps

Snowpack

Variable HS, anywhere from 40-90 on W aspects BTL. Really soft F hard snow on many BTL aspects. Deeper wind loaded slopes on SW ATL. 55-65 HS on SE aspect BTL. Interesting results with an ECT where is initiated at a weak layer 18cm up from the ground and propagated quickly up and across at 42cm up. It also chopped the slab in half vertically. We also observed big cracking and collapsing BTL on SE aspects.

Avalanche

Another group in the same zone observed 2 ATL avalanches (E-HS-N-R1D1.5 & E-SS-N-R1D1) Coded in ob https://classic.avalanche.state.co.us/caic/obs/obs_report.php?obs_id=73616