Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler · Apr 10, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
It was a beautiful warm sunny day with very little wind. Most of the day was just in a baselayer top.
Snowpack
Northerly aspects still had cold snow beneath the surface. Below treeline there was a supportive crust with cold dry snow below. On my egress later in the day this crust had wetted and become punchy. Below treeline on northerlies there were a couple of prominent ice layers. Above treeline on this aspect there was a weak layer that was reactive on Extended Column Tests down about 25cm on a layer of decomposing snow grains and some rounding facets this layer is gaining strength. At 12,000 feet the snow was still cold even in the afternoon with very little surface melting. Southerlies were really heating up. Below treeline the snow was isothermal ( 0c from top to bottom) with a variety of crusts but no results in compression tests. The snow was still supportive to skis and boots. At 12,000feet on a southeasterly slope the snow was saturated for the top 10cm and then cold rounded snow grains. When I probed into the snow you could see the water running down the probe.