Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler · Dec 20, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
Calm day, gloveless hands. Rare in the Indian Peaks. High clouds, snow flurries.
Snowpack
Below treeline the snowdepths were about 40 to 50cm of mostly facets top to bottom. When the trees opened up and there was more wind effect, there was a thick slab above the facets. These are the little pockets that could take someone by surprise below the treeline. At the very top of the near treeline, I observed a southeast and east-facing slope. I dug towards the edge of the slab on the east-facing slope where the snow was 70 cm thick, and the weak layer was still close to the surface. I was able to get moderate propagating results on Extended Column Tests. As I moved further onto the slab, snow depths increased to a meter or more of firm snow. The meat of the slabs in this area will be hard to trigger apart from the edge and at trigger points but if you do affect the weak layer the whole feature you are on could avalanche. On a southeast-facing aspect where the snow had obviously drifted in, there was a lot of very firm snow, and I was unable to get any results in the test. Above treeline the snow was very stripped and it appeared that only easterly and northeasterly slopes really held any snow.