Avalanche

Washington Gulch

Zach GuyGunnison
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Quick report

Conflicting feedback: Numerous large natural persistent slabs ran in both the shallow zone and deep zone over the past 48 hours, but no signs of instability under sled.

Weather

Cloud Cover
clear
Wind Loading
previous
Snow Avail For Transport
moderate amounts

Clear all morning, thin overcast by early afternoon. A few periods of light drifting up high.

Snowpack

The snowpack is quiet here in contrast to what I observed yesterday in West Brush Creek.  On low-angle slopes, the persistent slab appears stubborn, evidenced by no signs of instability and un-alarming test results on one flat test pit.  We know the snowpack structure is shallower and weaker on the many repeat offenders, and I didn't seek feedback from those areas.  The recent naturals on Schuylkill Ridge, Redwell, Baldy, and Purple suggest the snowpack is still unstable in some areas.  

Avalanche

Size
D1.5
Type
HS
Count
28
Aspect
NW
Trigger
N
Elevation
11900 ft

Around twenty arge to very large natural avalanches ran in the past few days (since we had good visibility on Sunday 2/16) from wind drifting. Most of these appeared to be persistent slabs breaking on the January dryspell layer or deeper. A few looked to be shallower wind slabs. There's also lingering evidence of widespread natural activity during the big storm; I'm only documenting a handful of the more obvious or larger avalanches here.