Sawatch

Several natural avalanches in Negro Gulch and Graham Gulch.

There isn't much more to say about below treeline slopes. They are completely faceted. Once a slab forms, avalanches are certain. The lower end of NTL is similar but there is more coverage on southeast and south-facing slopes than the bare slopes below treeline. I dug above the crown of a recent D1.5 avalanche on a southeast-facing above treeline slope. I found a ~30 cm thick slab from one-finger to pencil hard. Below this was a 10 cm layer of soft, faceted snow. I got a result of ECPT12 on this layer. This was really the main takeaway from my day. It showed that it won't take much of a load to reactivate the recently buried layer. If we get another round of strong northwest winds with about 6" of snow, I would expect more avalanche activity. Northerly slopes above treeline are either scoured or wind packed and impenetrable. There won't be any snow transport if there isn't new snow with the future wind.