Aspen

Snowpack

Brandon Levy · Jan 14, 2018 · Aspen

Weather

Mild with clear skies and calm winds

Snowpack

Shallow, generally weak with a surprising lack of depth hoar despite the shallow height of snow. Ski penetration was 20cm to the thin rain crust that was buried on 1/11. Foot penetration was to the ground. Localized cracking occurred near the skin track. One collapse was felt and heard in a bushy open meadow. A profile at 9700' on NE facing slope had a clear delineation between the "old snow" and the "new snow"; however, the old snow showed signs of rounding and no striations were observed with 2 mm rounding facets noted as the grain type. The current height of snow--around 40-50cm--is still too low to obscure many anchors in the Lone Tree Bowl Avalanche Path. ECTP's at the ground may only be a concern on a smooth grassy slope like the profile site. SH and near-surface facets observed on the surface in most places that weren't seeing direct sun.