Sawatch
SnowpackKreston Rohrig · Nov 7, 2024 · Sawatch
Weather
The skies were obscured on the drive in with light orographic showers. Around noon, the clouds started to break up, and small patches of blue sky were visible. Temperatures remained cold throughout the day, with light to moderate southeast winds.
Snowpack
I dug several quick hand pits as I ascended near and above treeline and found a thin 5cm layer of small 1mm facets at the ground in most areas. As mentioned above, the snowpack ranged from 20-80cm in depth and was generally soft and uniform above the basal facet layer. In deeper drifted-in terrain features, there is more complex stratigraphy and layering confined to small gullies and depressions. I dug a pit at 12,000' and found stiffer layers of old, wind-transported snow over a thicker layer of fairly consolidated facets. I had no propagating results in stability tests (ECTX). Boot penetration went to the ground, even in deeper places.