Aspen
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Feb 21, 2017 · Aspen
Weather
Low clouds, fog and drizzle in the morning slowly cleared out as the day went on. The ceiling lifted, but skies remained overcast. A little bit of sun poking through now and then delivered enough radiation to moisten the snow surface on sunny aspects by mid-afternoon.
Snowpack
The snowpack is deep and solid. HS 205. The 1/19 surface hoar layer has largely disappeared. I was able to find it by prying on columns when preparing my ECT's. A layer of buried near-surface facets is visible down 40 cms at the 2/11 interface. This layer was moderately reactive, one ECTP 21, and 2 ECTN, one at 21, one at 23. These facets were rounding, but are still a concern. The temperature gradient was only 3 degrees over 205 cm, so I expect to see this instability strengthen over the next few days. Lower paths along Hwy 133 have mostly melted out, with around 12" of well-compacted snow in Flatiron and the Headaches. The other paths along the grade are below threshold. Quite a bit of ground is starting to show around rocks and bushes, even as high as the south-facing aspect of Lone Tree Bowl. Hairpin Bowl is shadier overall, and is holding more snow.
Avalanche
No activity observed