Sawatch

Avalanche

Ian Hoyer · Jan 9, 2016 · Sawatch

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Weather

Clouds stuck around all day, so poor visibility. Light snow all day without real wind below treeline. New snow depths ranged from 2-6".

Snowpack

Traveled all aspects below treeline and a little near treeline. Large gradient in snow depth between trailhead at 8600ft and ridgecrests around 11000ft (10-40 cm low elevation 70-100 higher). Basal facets were present in all areas we traveled, but generally the layer with thinner (10-20 cm) and not as well developed. The below treeline slab from the Christmas week storm was more consistently supportable than in the rest of the zone. Slabs were still not cohesive enough to get a good result with an ECT. No sun crusts were observed. No signs of instability were observed.

Avalanche

Saw no signs of avalanches.