Front Range
SnowpackSpencer Logan · Mar 11, 2019 · Front Range
Weather
Scattered clouds in the morning. It does not take much sun to make the snow surface moist. Cloud cover increased mid-day. Frontal passage 12:30-13:00 with strong and gusty winds, noticeable drop in temperature, and 0.5 cm of graupel. Snowfall gradually intensified (S2) through mid-afternoon.
Snowpack
Near and Above Treeline: Many slopes did not avalanche during the cycle. They are deeply drifted. Several crowns were quite large, but the smaller crowns are already beginning to drift in, reloading the faceted snow or crusts on the bed surfaces. Minor cracking in the fresh surface wind slabs.
Below Treeline: Minor cracking where surface snow formed sun crusts. Small sluffing in surface snow on very steep, shaded slopes. Old snow was extensively faceted prior to March storms. Ski penetration was 20 to 40 cm, with boot penetration much deeper.