Aspen
AvalancheBrandon Levy · Feb 25, 2023 · Aspen
Weather
High overcast gave way to broken cloud cover by 1100 on McClure Pass. The temperature warmed to well above freezing as well and the southwesterly winds were pretty light to calm with the occasional moderate gust.
Snowpack
The snowpack in the larger paths above SH133 is deep (175cms), fairly homogenous, and strong. A thin faceted layer down about 55cms produced moderate, resistant results with compresion tests (CT16 x2 down 55cms on rounding faceted grains size .5mm).
Avalanche
I observed an avalanche on the flanks of Chair Mountain that illustrated the anomalous loading patterns during the recent strong southwesterly winds during the storm from February 22 to February 24th. I coded this avalanche in a seperate observation. Additionally, rollerballs and pinwheels occured today along the final grade of SH133 on the east side of McClure Pass running to the ditches by the time I left the pass at 1200.