Front Range
AvalancheMatt Pennington · Mar 21, 2020 · Front Range
Weather
Weather early in the AM was cold, below 20 deg. Throughout the day, the sun came out and the temperature rose rapidly.
Snowpack
There was about 18-24 inches of fresh snow that had fallen within the previous two days on top of a significant sun crust. In the early morning the snow was light and unconsolidated, but when the sun came out it quickly became heavy and slushy. Rollers were observed on the slope before the avalanche occurred.
Avalanche
There was an avalanche that slid across a skin track at midday, probably close to noon. Elevation was above tree line, at 11k feet of elevation. The avalanche happened on a SE aspect. We did not observe anyone actively using the skin track when the slide happened and there is no evidence that anyone was caught or buried.