Sawatch
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Apr 27, 2020 · Sawatch
Weather
A trace of snow from Sunday night's storms turned into about 2 to 3 inches up high. Winds were breezy but pretty erratic with periods of calm. Mostly clear skies and very warm temps. At noon the temperature at about 12k feet was around 44 degrees.
Snowpack
Firm and supportable in the morning. I traveled on southerly slopes and ski crampons were useful. As I approached higher elevations (about 12,500) the snow was soft with a few inches of new snow and wind-drifted snow from Sunday evening. Wind drifts were up to 6 inches thick but they were soft with no cracking observed. Any new snow quickly turned moist by noon. At noon southerly slopes were still quite supportable underneath the new snow with minor rollerballing. Descending to near treeline I found wet snow from the surface to about 8 inches down. As the descent continued the supportive crust under the wet snow became less so.
Avalanche
No avalanches observed occurring on 4/27. One older avalanche observed possibly from day prior.