Gunnison
SnowpackJohn Mackinnon · Mar 1, 2012 · Gunnison
Weather
Snowing S1 all afternoon with moderate west winds and overcast to obscured skies. Snow was blowing down valley and exposed areas below treeline were seeing steady light-moderate transport through the afternoon. Our skin track had completely blown in on our descent. Temperatures cooled off throughout the day with an observed low of -9C at 3pm at 10,200 ft.
Snowpack
25 cm of recent storm snow is sitting on a melt-freeze crust that formed yesterday afternoon. Tuesday's storm snow has settled into 20 cm of snow below the crust and is resting on a buried facet layer down about 50 cm. We observed another thin facet layer down 30 cm that must have formed late Tuesday night during a brief clear spell. Observed wide-spread collapsing throughout the tour on all aspects where we traveled. Many collapses were rumbling. Did not have good enough visibility to observe any recent natural activity.