Sawatch
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · May 8, 2018 · Sawatch
Weather
Clear skies this morning with temperatures in the mid-thirties early this morning. The 6 AM reading of 33 degrees at the Fremont Pass Snotel (11400 ft) was the overnight low.
Snowpack
Despite above-freezing temperatures the snow surface was solidly frozen at near to above treeline elevations. Although the snow surface softened quickly with morning sun, conditions stayed supportable to skis throughout the morning. Melt-freeze crusts were 2 to 4 inches thick early on with supportable hard snow (1F to P hardness) underneath. On the sunniest easterly slopes foot pen was about 6 inches. I dug on a northeast-facing slope and found a snowpack with generally moist isothermic snow, yet supportable snow. You can still make out the basal facets and depth hoar and these layers are moist but no layers are overly saturated or pooling water. This may change this week with hot temperatures and warm overnight lows. As exhibited by a large natural avalanche near the Eisenhower Tunnel early this morning, the most worrisome areas are steep, rocky slopes with a thin snowpack. Most west and southwest-facing slopes are thin and the snowpack is likely much more saturated than deeper snowpack areas.