Sawatch

Avalanche

Brandon Levy · Mar 28, 2021 · Aspen

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Weather

Beautiful day, clear skies and warm weather. At 10:40am at 12,070' air temperature was 26 degrees Fahrenheit and increased rapidly. Winds began calm but increased to light from the NW. No precipitation, and no blowing snow observed throughout our tour

Snowpack

There is more snow above the generally west-facing slopes of Waterhole Grade than last year at this time. The cornice above West Roaring Fork is about the same size as last year. The complex upper snowpack on the southwest-facing slopes near Waterhole #1 consists of multiple crusts and softer layers. We observed propagating results in long column tests on both the faceted grain / melt-freeze crust combination buried in mid-March and the depth hoar from early December. (See profile).

Avalanche

Several small loose snow avalanches in West Roaring Fork as well as on the south and southeast-facing slopes of Geissler Mountain.