Aspen
AvalancheMatt Huber Brian Lazar · Feb 13, 2019 · Aspen
Weather
Southerly winds at ridgeline were strong enough to visibly transport snow. We didn't go above treeline so we were unable to assess how effectively slopes were being loaded, but looked like efficient loading from a distance. Snow began to fall very lightly as we were skiing back to the snowmobiles around 1:30PM. The sky was completely overcast during the trip.
Snowpack
At treeline, total snow depth was a little over two meters. The upper and mid snowpack was stacks of Pencil-hard slabs with thin layers of 1mm facets sandwiched in between. Two notable failure planes (1mm) facets were noted in the top 60 cm of the snowpack, though these layers were not reactive in snowpack tests (surprisingly). The basal depth hoar(2-4mm) is beginning to round but is still cohesionless. The basals layer is 40cm thick and 4 Fingers in hardness. Any avalanche breaking to the depth hoar would be very large and destructive.
Avalanche
A large avalanche on a northeast facing slope at 12,600 feet was reported to us by the TLazy7 snowmobile guides. It broke several hundred feet across, stepping into the basal depth hoar and ran about 1000 vertical feet. This avalanche ran around February 10. A smaller avalanche lower on the slopes looks like it ran yesterday. Likely triggered by continued wind loading.