Gunnison

Avalanche

Zach Guy · Nov 19, 2015 · Gunnison

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Weather

Weather: Broken to scattered cloud cover. Light winds at our elevation but plumes from NW winds off of 12k ft peaks. No precip.

Snowpack

Snowpack: HS averaged 40 cm below treeline. The bottom 5-10 cm is 1.5mm moist facets (F+), and above that is settled snow from recent storms (4F to F, rounds or DF’s). No signs of instability. As we approached near treeline elevations, snowdepth and structure became much more variable due to wind effects. Basal facets were dry, and in some places capped by low density recent snow or in others capped by dense wind drifted slabs up to 2 feet thick. These slabby areas were small and isolated in distribution. We observed some small collapses and cracks when crossing these windloaded pockets.

Avalanche

Avalanches: Good views of Gothic, Baldy, and Belleview. Looks like one recent crown on a NE aspect above treeline on Gothic, failing near the ground a foot or two deep. SS-N-R2-D1.5-O/G. Otherwise, no recent activity.