Sangre Avy Conditions

[LongLiveTheHuskers]

Has anyone been in the southern Sangres lately?

A few days off has presented itself as an opportunity to get up to the high country... Blanca Peak came to mind.

I tried to do my best to follow the snowpack earlier in the winter and it seemed as if the Sangres kept getting missed. Two months later and the CAIC still has them shaded grey on the avalanche scale. Recent weather also seemed to point to very little snow up there, but I havent read or been able to find much for current info on snowpack conditions.

Would I be off base to think that Blanca could be "rock hopped" to the top? Has anyone been in the area recently and can report on snowpack? I would be traveling solo, and although I know the avy danger on the Blanca route is only moderate, I dont want to take any chances. I've read a few trip reports that point the potential avy spots near/above Crater Lake and approaching the ridge. My hopes were that the snow was scarce enough up there right now that avy levels wouldnt pose much of a problem.

Could anyone weigh in on this? The plan is to depart sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks

[mtnmaneric]

I was through that area a couple weeks ago. At that time, there wasn't too much snow down low, in the basin or on the approach. There was plenty of snow up high to be very concerned of avy danger. The last system that hit the San Juans also hit the Sangres pretty hard.

[rijaca]

The SNOTEL site for the area is showing 62" currently. http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl- ... 7&state=co

[LongLiveTheHuskers]

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like I'll be staying away from the Sangres then.

Back to the drawing board...