Grand Mesa
SnowpackDylan Craaybeek · Nov 16, 2022 · Grand Mesa
Weather
Cold, mostly clear day with Light breeze and Light snow transport from northwesterly winds. 20 degrees F at 11:00 at Skyway trailhead warming to just above freezing temperatures (34F) by 14:00 at the trailhead while just below the north end of the edge of the Mesa stayed well below freezing (17F at the Cliffs @ 14:15). A few gusts from the northeast but mostly light wind from the northwest.
Snowpack
All signs point toward a snowpack faceting throughout. The top 20-40cm of the snowpack are mostly preserved precipitation particles and decomposing fragmented particles showing obvious signs of faceting on their branches. A very thin, mostly decomposed crust still exists on northerlies below the new snow but has mostly faceted with obvious, thin facets above and below the 1mm crust. The bottom of the snowpack is also beginning to show signs of faceting but still mostly rounded grains. Southerly slopes have a more prominent and thick crust about 10-15cm below the snow surface.