Gunnison

Avalanche

Zach Guy · Feb 25, 2017 · Gunnison

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Weather

Cold! Temps stayed below 0F at high elevations. Winds picked up through the day, moderate to strong out of the west, transporting snow near ridge lines. Overcast/obscured skies.

Snowpack

The most recent storm snow (~8") appeared to be bonding well to the crusty interface (2/22). No cracking or sluffing observed, even in thicker drifted areas. On southerly aspects, there is a crust/facet/crust sandwich below the storm interface, which became more concerning (due to thinner, softer crusts) the closer we turned towards north half of the rose (such as E and W aspects). This could become an issue with more loading.

Avalanche

On a cross-loaded east aspect at 11,500 ft, I skier triggered a 12" deep, 30 ft wide wind slab, which broke on facets between 2 thin crusts. SS-ASc-R1-D1-O.