Aspen
SnowpackJewel Campbell · Jan 19, 2025 · Aspen
Weather
It was overcast all day and snowed lightly starting at noon. Temps were below zero then warmed up to zero. Light wind from the west was constant, and it got a bit stronger towards the late afternoon.
Snowpack
The snow was supportable everywhere I traveled on east-south-west aspects. South aspects had a beefy breakable crust below a dry few inches of snow. I didn't expect so much collapsing, but found that all slopes were collapsing up to a few hundred feet as I toured. They consistently failed on the faceted December drought layer under a slab that formed from the Christmas storm. The lower 20" of the snowpack is large facets, without discernable layers. The Christmas slab was 8" thick (and 1F hard) in upper below tree line terrain and 4" thick (and 4F hard) in lower below tree line terrain. Above the Christmas slab were a few layers of newer snow that were faceting but fairly well bonded. The total height of snow was about 3' everywhere I traveled. Cornices and wind slabs had formed on easterlies anywhere exposed to the wind, and I saw cornice breaks along ridgelines.