Front Range

Snowpack

Ryan Zarter · Apr 29, 2025 · Front Range

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Observation photo 1

Weather

BKN skies with temperatures right around freezing. Light southwest winds with stronger gusts at ridgetop. I did see a little bit of wind transport of recently fallen snow.

Snowpack

North-facing slopes near treeline where I traveled still hold cold snow, with little indication of recent warm temperatures other than a thin melt-freeze crust just below the surface. Hs where I dug was 120, and almost the entire snowpack consists of a pencil-hard slab of rounded grains. Probing around in the top of Sister 6 I found that the Hs varied from 20cm to a bit over 200cm in drifted areas. The upper couple of centimeters of the snowpack had warmed earlier today on east-facing slopes near and above treeline, however cloud cover and winds were keeping excessive warming at bay.