Front Range

Snowpack

Zach Taylor · Dec 10, 2013 · Front Range

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Weather

Partly cloudy, winds 15-20 near ridgetops and calm in valleys, temps 13-20F.

Snowpack

Overall, again a touchy snowpack. We heard a pretty good deal of whumping and cracking over the course of the day primarily in Moonlight Bowl/Halfpipe area. We dug a pit on an ENE aspect of Moonlight bowl, a couple hundred vertical feet above treeline. Pitch angle=30 degrees. Pit was approximately 3 feet in depth with two 12" thick slabs sitting on top of each other, with faceted snow grains separating them and 10" or so of basal facets at ground level. Shovel Shear test sheared with hard force (Q2 shear, w/energy on a convoluted layer) Weak layer was basal facets. CCT test failed first on buried NSF at CCT22, Q2(planar, no energy) with upper slab going. Lower slab then failed at CCT22 w/Q3 shear on basal facets.