Gunnison
AvalancheZach Guy · Jan 18, 2016 · Gunnison
Weather
Calm to light winds, with moderate gusts from S to W. S-1 to S2 snowfall. Overcast skies.
Snowpack
18†of very low density snow with minimal wind affect fell last night. On west aspects N/BTL, the storm interface (Jan 14th near-surface facet layer) is ~30†deep in relatively windsheltered terrain; deeper or shallower in wind affected terrain. One pit in an untrafficked area showed the layer is unreactive; size/hardness change was indistinct, with small grained rounding facets at the interface. On SE aspects near treeline, the slab was 26″ deep, but denser from wind effects, over reactive crust/facet/crust sandwiches. See avalanche ob.
Avalanche
On a SE aspect near treeline, a 2lb handshot triggered a large soft slab, 65 cm deep and ~200 ft wide, that failed in a thin facet layer below the Jan 14th meltfreeze crust. SS-AE-R2-D2-O. See profile. Widespread storm slab instability with more than a dozen natural and skier/snow cat triggered soft slabs (Fist hard, 3-10†deep, failing on precip particles) along various aspects of Kebler Pass Road and on Irwin terrain. Minor propagation decreased through the day (max 60 feet wide, avg 20-30 ft), and easily managed, ran more like loose snow avalanches. Harmless in size. SS-ASc/AK/N-R1-D1-S Weather: Calm to light winds, with moderate gusts from S to W. S-1 to S2 snowfall. Overcast skies.