Aspen
AvalancheMatt Huber · Mar 28, 2020 · Aspen
Weather
Blustery above treeline, temperatures remained in the single digits for the entire trip. Northwest winds were strong enough to drift snow above treeline and exposed terrain near treeline. S1 for most of the trip with brief periods of heavier intensity, less than an inch of accumulation during the day.
Snowpack
About 10 centimeters of low density snow fell within the past 24 hours. Northwest winds were drifting new snow onto southeast-facing slopes, building small cornices and shallow, less than 30 centimeter, wind slabs directly below ridgelines above treeline. Shooting cracks were minimal, reaching out less than a meter from my skis but showed propagation in Extended Column tests on isolation and a few taps from the wrist on a knife hard crust. The snowpack is about 150 cm deep on northeast-facing slopes at treeline. Several thin, faceted crust layers can be found in the upper 30 to 40 centimeters, the most obvious is from mid-march, producing moderate non-propagating results. No other results could be forced out.
Avalanche
A small wind slab avalanche on a southeast-facing slope above treeline. Directly above Taylor lake.