Front Range
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Oct 31, 2019 · Front Range
Weather
Winds were blowing snow in the morning, decreasing towards afternoon. Wind loading was not very effective and blowing snow was mostly sublimating. That being said, there was some effective wind loading in the previous 24 hours as thin, drifted slabs are prevalent on easterly slopes. Much warmer temperatures today. Quite pleasant.
Snowpack
The snowpack in non-wind-affected areas is about 45 cm deep. Wind-loaded easterly slopes near ridgetop hold up to 1 meter of snow.--- Due north-facing slopes that are exposed to wind are really thin due to recent northwesterly winds. You can still find cross-loaded gullies on due north further down slope.--- In general, the recent wind drifts on mostly easterly slopes sit on top of softer snow and crust/facet combos. In many places the slab is really thin. There are isolated slopes below ridgetop that hold deeper drifts. The thin slab seems to be reactive in extended column tests, yet cracking under skis is very localized. I did not observe any long shooting cracks of hear any sounds of collapsing.---Besides the concern of recent wind drifts failing on softer snow directly below, the most concerning layer is facets that sit below a mid-pack melt-freeze crust. This is something to watch for the future as the faceting process will be in full swing with nice weather for at least the next 10 days.
Avalanche
I drove up through Tenmile Canyon and up Highway 9 looking at the east side of the Gore Range up through Walden and up to Cameron Pass. No avalanches observed on the drive or as far as the eye can see around Cameron Pass. It was dark when I went over Fremont and there were two avalanches reported in another observation from that area.