Aspen

Avalanche

scott scharin · Dec 25, 2017 · Aspen

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Weather

4/5"new overnight,light snow thru the day w/ fog ,poor visibility most of the day.

Snowpack

8 -10" of very weak facets covered w/ ~ 7" of new snow from the last few days.

Avalanche

AS route thru the upper east side of ski area produced 4 avalanches. All failed on the basal facets with rapid shooting cracks. All slides were soft slab that gouged deep into the facets.They all broke fast and picked up speed quickly, escape could be difficult if caught too low. Avalanche in Kristi's sympathetically released an avalanche in the adjacent trail to the south (Gorps).