Aspen
AvalancheBrandon Levy · Mar 21, 2021 · Aspen
Weather
Obscured cloud cover with light snow was interspersed with periods of scattered cloud cover and other periods of higher snowfall rates where the snow fell at a rate of 1cm per hour. Notably the period from 0945-1030 was one with that higher snowfall rate. Gusty wind out of the southwest was moving snow to lee aspects; however, loading was intermittent.
Snowpack
The new snow (3-5") was stuck on the old surfaces which consisted mainly of a melt-freeze crust on the east and southeast-facing slopes where I traveled. The melt-freeze crust was 3cms thick near-treeline and thinner but still present at ridgetop on east-facing slopes at 12100'. I observed drifting and light wind loading behind prominent features on small slopes that faced northeast above treeline. Localized cracking occurred with ski pressure at these locations but no other movement. No propagating results occurred in long column tests on the persistent weak layer buried around 3/10 nor the persistent weak layer(s) near the base of the snowpack. The 3/10 weak layer consisted of a thin crust overlying faceted crystals on the east-facing slopes and a crust/rounding faceted grain/crust sandwich on the slopes that faced more southeast. Snow depth near treeline was generally 130-170 cms.
Avalanche
none observed