Gunnison
AvalancheCrested Butte Avalanche Center · Jan 21, 2016 · Gunnison
Weather
Weather: Bluebird sky, temperature around zero F, light NW winds at 7:30 becoming moderate NW winds at 9:00 with strong gusts.
Snowpack
Snowpack: Significant wind transported snow in the bowl with large cornices above the exposed rocks. Snow had a slightly punchy/grabby feel on the way down, but skied well and felt mostly stable. Be wary of isolated pockets in steeper terrain features.
Avalanche
Avalanches: Observed 2 or 3 small natural sloughs that ran a few hundred vertical feet through the rocks beneath the large cornices at the summit; Observed a natural soft slab (50 feet wide, 200 feet vertical) on the South ridge of Coon; Triggered a small soft slab on the final rollover before the lap track (20 feet wide, 50 feet vertical, 8-10 inches thick); Between our first and second lap, a larger natural slough ran several hundred vertical feet and covered a fresh set of ski tracks lookers left side of the exposed rocks.