Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler · Jan 9, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
The day began clear and warm with light winds. For our first pit the gloves were off. As the day progressed S1 snowfall started, and winds were moderate from the SW.
Snowpack
Thick slabs with scary weak layers below would be my one-sentence summary of all observations today. We dug on southeast, east and north aspects today and all aspects had propagating failures in tests on the basal facets. All snow profiles had strong mid-pack slabs resting on large facets or depth hoar. We had no cracking or collapsing in the snowpack and this just confirmed that we are moving into a period with very little snowpack feedback but high-consequence avalanches.