Sawatch
AvalancheJohn Mackinnon ยท Jan 28, 2015
Weather
Cloudy, moderate westerly winds, light blowing snow observed near and above TL, cool temperatures and a trace of snow throughout day.
Snowpack
Toured up to 12,000 feet in the Little Ellen Hill area and visited all aspects. Sunny slopes had stout crusts that didn't soften up at all. Most windward slopes near and above TL were either scoured or a patchwork of hard slabs, wind crusts and sastrugi. We observed some minor cracking in the hard slabs near TL. The shady slopes we visited near and below TL were bottomless facets. It was not uncommon to hit the ground every several turns. We skied slopes up to 40 degrees but did not observe any facet sluffing.
Avalanche
N.O.