Aspen
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek, Ben Pritchett · Jan 26, 2022 · Aspen
Weather
Cold morning with a temperature of 5 F at the trailhead at 8:30 AM. Clear skies all day with mostly Light winds and occasional Moderate gusts at the ridgeline above 12,000 ft. Light to Moderate snow transport along the ridgeline loading southeast slopes.
Snowpack
The snowpack is shallower and more dangerous in this corner of the Aspen zone. The height of snow (HS) remained fairly consistently under 1 meter below about 10,500 feet and was no more 1-1.5 meters in the deep portions of the drainage. A thin (20-40cm) and firm (1F to P on the hand hardness scale) slab is insulating the well-developed facets and depth hoar at the base of the snowpack in the alpine. Snowpack tests show mostly stable results in representative areas but by targeting shallower sections we found easy to moderate propagating failures with extended column tests.
Avalanche
Observed numerous avalanches from our past two avalanche cycles (the new years cycle and the smaller Jan.9-10 avalanche cycle. Avalanches coded here: 1.) https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/obs/obs_report.php?obs_id=69283 2.) https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/obs/obs_report.php?obs_id=69284 3.) https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/obs/obs_report.php?obs_id=69285 4.) https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/obs/obs_report.php?obs_id=69286 5.) https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/obs/obs_report.php?obs_id=69287