Gunnison

Avalanche

Ben Pritchett · Dec 10, 2019 · Gunnison

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Weather

Cool in the shade, felt hot in the sun. Light drifting above 12,000', but no drifting near treeline.

Snowpack

HS ranged from 30-40cm on sunny south to west facing terrain below treeline, up to an average of 80cm on shady and sheltered north-east facing terrain, with drifted features up to 150cm deep. Rumbling collapses occurred on all aspects. Sunny slopes near and below treeline collapsed on facets sandwiched between melt-freeze crusts about every 30-50 feet we travelled. Deeper east to northeast facing slopes produced deep rumbling collapses, but with less frequency. Louder and more of a drop, but less predictable than the crust / facet combos. Snowpack tests failed in DH. CTVE and ECTP16. We skinned up and skied down a gentle ridge above a steep and drifted southeast facing feature with surprisingly no collapsing in the drifts, but predictable and easy to trigger collapses on the crusted lower angled slopes nearby.

Avalanche

Saw several large avalanches as the storm cleared out this morning above treeline on easterly slopes.