Aspen
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek · Jan 28, 2022 · Aspen
Weather
Cold morning remaining in the teens to Low 20s throughout the day. Clear sky all day with mostly Calm winds and Light gusts. Observed little to no snow transport along ridgelines.
Snowpack
The snowpack above the treeline on the east side of Highlands ridge ranges from 0-0.5 meters deep on the southerly slopes to 1.5-2 meters deep on northerly sides. Near the treeline the snow is more consistent around 1-1.5 meters and below the treeline it was closer to 1 meter deep. The top 30 cm of snow on all shaded aspects has faceted making for great skiing and riding but also easy to trigger Loose Dry avalanches and will be problematic when we get more snow. The mid-pack slab is faceting and losing strength. Previous signs of facets rounding near the base of the snowpack have now reversed showing well-bonded and mostly rounding facets returning to a kinetic growth regime and growing angular corners and edges on individual grains. The well-developed facets and depth hoar the make up the base of the snowpack were similar. Snowpack tests continue to show little to no signs of instability (ECTX, PST END (44/113)@30cm up).
Avalanche
Lots of Loose Dry avalanche activity on shady slopes at all elevations. Also observed an old avalanche likely from the holiday cycle coded here: https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/obs/obs_report.php?obs_id=69341