Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler Austin DiVesta · Feb 2, 2024 · Front Range
Weather
2 pm, the temperature dropped noticeably. Winds, which had been calm, shifted to northeasterly, and snow started.
Snowpack
The snowpack is weaker on the west side of the Continental Divide than on the east side. On a westerly aspect, the snow depths were close to 140cm, but this was quite variable across the terrain. Failures on tests were just below a melt-freeze crust about 60cm deep. The surface was 2cm surface hoar standing tall and proud. Above treeline the snow was thin and variable on all westerly aspects. We were only able to snowmobile on surfaces where the wind had drifted snow. Close to Mt. Epworth we found a really shallow snowpack with multiple crusts. The east face of Mt.Epworth slid during the MLK storm. This will have a thin snowpack that will be deceptive if you dig in deeper areas either side of the slide.