Sawatch
AvalancheAndrew McWilliams · Dec 17, 2022 · Sawatch
Weather
Very cold and clear to start the day. Winds were calm near and below treeline and temperatures warmed throughout the morning. A few clouds were noted in the sky as I left.
Snowpack
Below treeline snow heights varied from 30cm to 45cm with the deepest spots holding about 60cm of snow. As I ascended I observed many cracks and collapses on easterly aspects. On a cross-loaded west-facing test slope I got a small pocket of snow to collapse and begin to move as a slab, but it immediately arrested. As I moved into the near treeline elevation band, the wind had significantly affected the snow. Some areas had significant ski penetration while others I was supported by recently deposited wind-drifted snow. A pit dug in a deeper area had no result on an extended column test, while 100 feet to the north another pit in a shallower spot had propagating results. In both cases the melt-freeze crust was present near the ground. The difference was in the thickness of the slab above the facet-crust combination near the ground. It's a good example of increasing stability in some areas, but that there are plenty of thin spots out there to trigger an avalanche from.
Avalanche
I spotted an old avalanche on a north to east-facing slope near treeline. Likely ran within the past week.