Gunnison

Quick report

Zach Guy · Jan 9, 2026 · Gunnison

View on map
Observation photo 1Observation photo 2

Weather

Winter-like temps at last! Clear skies this morning, with clouds filling in over the Ruby Range by noon. Light wind drifting in the alpine from northerly winds. wind loading: light; recent snowfall (cm): 15 to 25; snow avail for transport: moderate amounts

Snowpack

Three or four suncrusts in the snowpack; the thickest and strongest being the Christmas crust (near the ground) and the Jan 5 crust (supportive to skis, 4 - 5 cm thick) up to ~18" deep on as sheltered of a feature as I could find.  There are small-grained, rounding facets below the various crusts in the snowpack; I didn't notice any obvious facets above the crusts where I dug, except in a crust/facet/crust sandwich at the Dec 25 to Jan 1 zone.  . Minor cracking (1' to 2') in fresh wind drifts, which were only 6 to 10" thick where we traveled.

Avalanche

A handful of harmless (D1) soft wind slabs that likely ran this morning from increased northerly winds on E to S facing rollovers.