Aspen
SnowpackColin Mitchell · Jan 22, 2015 · Aspen
Weather
Warming quickly during the late morning and afternoon after a cold night.
Snowpack
Average HS on N and E aspects a little over a meter. Ski pen only 10 cm or so, down to a stiff mid-pack slab. The Dec. 13th facets were still visible in my pit, but were unreactive to tests. The slab is sitting on a layer of 4f+ rounding depth hoar that still produced propagating fractures in ECT tests: ECTP21 SC, ECTP23 SC. The slab is faceting, but still plenty strong and supportable. Boot pen 20 cm. A layer of surface hoar was visible 14 cm down. This layer fractured but would not propagate during ECT tests (ECTN6 SC down 14). Southerly aspects and lower elevation slopes are melting out. The south facing side of Lone Tree bowl has swaths of bare dirt. Other areas are patchy and appear to have less than 12" of snow. Similar conditions are found on the lower slopes, intermediate start zones, and in Flatiron and the Headaches. The snowpack that exists in these areas is likely a combination of facets and crusts, although direct observation of these slopes is very difficult due to terrain configuration.