Sawatch
AvalancheBen Pritchett · Mar 28, 2022 · Sawatch
Weather
Very warm, into the mid 40's near the summit. Light to moderate breeze with increasing high clouds after 1pm.
Snowpack
Near the summit of Monarch Pass, in Snowstake Bowl, the snowpack on northerly-facing slopes remains mostly dry. Only the top 1" or so of the snowpack has wetted. I saw no signs of water percolating or pooling below on northwest to north to northeast. The dryspell facets were 4-finger hard, and dry, showing signs of rounding.
The snowpack on southerly-facing slopes in this same area remained supportive to boots even in mid-afternoon. I found multiple ice lenses in the upper snowpack, which had not broken down despite the incredible warmth and wet surfaces.
The snowpack on southerly-facing slopes in this same area remained supportive to boots even in mid-afternoon. I found multiple ice lenses in the upper snowpack, which had not broken down despite the incredible warmth and wet surfaces.
Avalanche
I saw a few small loose avalanches from Bank A. One small Wet Slab avalanche ran near Sargents on a northerly-facing bank near the river. Surprisingly I saw no other fresh wet avalanche activity on the pass.