Aspen
AvalancheBrian Lazar · Feb 9, 2020 · Gunnison
Weather
Mostly cloudy to overcast and light snow all day ranging from S-1 to S2. Felt warm down low, and cool as you got out of the timber. Light breeze from variable directions but mostly from the south.
Snowpack
The recent storm snow is rapidly settling and the density change within the storm snow seems to be abating as the initial lower-density snow settles with the overburden. The 60cm of storm snow since Feb 7 rests on thin, but very stiff slabs in the upper snowpack. There is a thin layer of small rounding facets underneath these slabs. Neither the storm snow-old snow interface, nor the facet layer were reactive in snowpack tests (ECTX, and PST 65/100 on the facets). There are crust-facet combinations on southeast-facing slopes that are a bit worrisome, but there were no obvious signs of instability. There are, however, obvious signs of wind effect, and steep slopes with fat wind-drifted slabs are still a concern.
Avalanche
non observed.