Gunnison

Snowpack

Ben Pritchett · Feb 20, 2012 · Gunnison

View on map

Weather

Hiked up-hill w/ a buff-rag over my face. Cold, blustery NW winds that moved snow until at least early afternoon. 5 degrees (F) at 11AM, at 11,000'.

Snowpack

Stiff, slabby new snow. Measured 10" storm snow in sheltered trees, with .8" of Snow Water Equivalent. Several shooting cracks observed while breaking trail on N-E-SE aspects, with the most significant crack over 200' long, almost remote triggering an adjacent SE facing slope from the ridge crest. The slope fractured and moved a couple of inches, but stopped. The crack propagated in a layer of facets below a melt freeze crust just below the storm snow, down 40cm from the snow surface. No avalanches observed, but visibility was limited.