Sawatch
AvalancheChris Benson · May 20, 2019 · Sawatch
Weather
Variable. Light freezes for several nights. 1-3" of new snow up high on 5/18.
Snowpack
From May 15-18, we observed a mostly punchy and moist spx. On a north aspect around 12,700', the early may dust layer near an ice crust was 80 cm down. Moist snow was observed through much of the upper spx. The dust/ice combo appeared to be the bed surface for numerous avalanches around May 13th. This dust layer was much deeper than other areas, perhaps because this slope contained numerous wet-loose debris that increased the depth of the early May dust layer.
Avalanche
We observed around 6 avalanches shallow slab avalanches that probably ran May 13-15th on easterly aspects, with most of them being size 2 but a size 3 was observed on the east face of Huron Peak. Several southerly aspects on the North side of Clear Creek also showed evidence of slab avalanche activity. Recent avalanche activity on steep north facing terrain near Lois Lake was also noted. No cracking or collapsing was noted during our time in the mountains. We ascended slopes up to 45 degrees on south and north facing aspects.