Front Range
AvalancheJP Pickell · Feb 24, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
Toured from about 0630 - 0845. Temps ranged from 6-10 degree F. Winds were calm early on, even ATL. SW light winds observed ATL when on the egress at 0830. Sky conditions: OVC on the pass, FEW down in fraser valley. Precipitation: S-1, picked up to S1 by the time I returned to the trailhead at 0845.
Snowpack
Observed HS ranging from 135-145 cm (BTL, E aspect), 150-170 cm (NTL NE aspect), and 170-200+cm (ATL, NE aspect). The snowpack generally felt "right side up" when probing. Identified a thick crust/layer ~20cm down when probing ATL. Dug a pit on a NE aspect, ATL, HS 209cm. Did not dig to ground, only down about 120cm. On the hardness scale I identified: F (209cm-181cm), P (181cm-160cm), 1F (160cm-136cm), P (136cm-85cm or base of pit). Performed a compression test, CTE5 on the interface between the fist/pencil hard layer (about 25-30cm below the surface). Did not perform an ECT. However, I did not identify any shooting cracks out past my skis (only localized cracking on the up and down). I also did not experience any propagation in this layer after jumping on a few test slopes on the way up nor when cutting across a few test slopes on the way down.
Avalanche
None observed