Gunnison

Snowpack

Zach Guy · Jan 16, 2013 · Gunnison

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Weather

Weather: Moderate temps. Few clouds to clear skies. Light north winds with light snow transport on ridgelines in the morning; no transport in the afternoon.

Snowpack

On west facing terrain above treeline, we observed shallow windslabs (<4”) on crossloaded terrain not reactive to ski cuts , and scouring to old facets/crusts elsewhere. In a relatively wind sheltered zone on a west ATL slope, a test pit showed 6” of soft slab (4F+ DF’s) over weak facets/mixed forms (F+). Tests showed a non-planar fracture that did not propagate at this interface (ECTN11, Q3, B). Profile on a west slope below treeline showed faceting throughout a 3 ft snowpack: 4F midpack with no fractures or propagation in tests. Surrounding Ruby Range showing lots of wind effect above treeline: scouring, windslabs, and sastrugi features. Avalanche Activity: No recent slab avalanche activity in surrounding Ruby Mtns, but several shallow sluffs on south aspects in Peeler Basin due to solar and warming.