Sawatch

Snowpack

Spencer Herford · Jan 10, 2022 · Sawatch

Weather

Sunny, light west winds, warm.

Snowpack

Test pit on a NW aspect at 11,370ft. This pit location was a good transition from the lower elevation areas where trees were left in place and the snowpack is deeper, to higher on the ridge where slopes are scoured. Previously this was a densely wooded area, now it would seem to behave as you would expect as a near treeline slope as the trees are mostly gone due to beetle mitigation. Column tests failed on large and well developed depth hoar 20cm from the ground with moderate force. In my travels, I found a very supportable snowpack BTL, though the higher I got in elevation, the easier it was for me to break through that supportable slab and get to the buried facets. No shooting cracks or collapsing.