Front Range

Snowpack

Ryan Zarter · Mar 5, 2023 · Vail & Summit County

Weather

Broken skies with moderate WSW winds gusting quite a bit stronger while I was out today. I observed effective wind transport near and above treeline.

Snowpack

Probing around on a southeast asepct at treeline I found an average snow depth of around 130cm. The snow surface was recently wind deposited snow with a thin melt-freeze crust just under it. Below this there was a couple inch thick layer of faceted snow on top of another, more stout melt-freeze crust. This all caps a snowpack that consists of 1F or harder facets and rounding facets. ECTN results under each of the melt-freeze crusts. Traveling up to the start zone I moved across south to southwest aspects below treeline. Generally a junk snowpack and highly variable. Some places were blown or melted almost to the ground, some places were cooked down to a foot or so deep, with multiple crusts present. In other places there were a couple of feet of wind drifted snow. I could get some cracking in recently drifted snow, but cracks didn't extend much past my skis.