Aspen
AvalancheMatt Huber · Apr 9, 2019 · Aspen
Weather
Strong south winds above treeline with 80% cloud cover. Temperatures were warm but the wind was keeping the snow surface relatively cool. There were light amounts of blowing snow at ridgeline but very little loading was seen.
Snowpack
Highly variable snowpack depths on southeast facing slopes from seasonal cross-loading, ranging from less than a meter to over 3 meters. In the shallow areas, less than 1.5 meters, there was evidence of water traveling through the entire snowpack, with isolated collapsing occurring near rocks and vegetation. The portions with a deep, wind-affected snowpack were supportive and showed no evidence of water penetrating past the very dense wind slabs into the basal layers
Avalanche
One small loose wet sluff released on 4/8, gouging deep into the snowpack for roughly 500 vertical feet. It ran into a portion of the slope that had been cross-loaded and ran another 500 vertical feet on top of the slab, without triggering the slab or entraining anything except surface snow. Southeast facing slope near treeline