Sawatch
AvalancheBo Torrey · Feb 21, 2021 · Aspen
Weather
Cold temperatures and gusty winds. Low thin clouds hide the high peaks. Occasionally the clouds would break and we had brief glimpses of the surrounding mountains. Moderate NW winds with occasional strong gusts drifting snow. Drifting confined to just below ridges.
Snowpack
4 inches of new snow. Snowpack depth averaged about 135cm near and below treeline on north and east aspects. Higher up above treeline the snowpack was slightly deeper at 155cm. On north and east facing slopes near and below treeline the snowpack structure is the same as observed in other areas of the range. 100cm slab sitting above ~40cm of faceted snow. Extended Column Tests continued to fail on the faceted snow just above the ground but took quite a bit of effort to produce propagation. My test scores were consistently in the mid to high 20's and PST test were 35-45/100 END. This continues to tell me that failure on these layers is possible but is stubborn to trigger. On a wind drifted east-facing slope above treeline the structure was different. There was a fresh 20cm thick wind slab and small grain near surface facets 35cm below the surface, both of which produced propagation in stability tests. Again, the weak snow near the ground continued to propagate with mid 20's ECT scores. PST 42/100 END on 2-4mm Depth hoar 105cm deep & 40cm above the ground.
Avalanche
Several old avalanches. Dayton and Parry looked the most recent.