Aspen
SnowpackColin Mitchell · Mar 9, 2016 · Aspen
Weather
Cloudy with light snow. Little in the way of accumulation, maybe 2 cms. Snow started around 1:00 and ended by 3:00. Very light winds varied between N and W.
Snowpack
New snow from Monday and Tuesday varied between 4 and 12 inches getting progressively deeper as we climbed up towards treeline. The new snow was still not bonding well to the dusty old snow surface in the mostly wind-protected easterly aspects we traveled. Traverses on skins were difficult with the new snow sliding off of the old crusts. The storm snow remained unconsolidated in most areas, and had begun to facet. ATL slopes were alternately stripped and loaded, with fresh-looking cornice development on the east side of the Justice ridge. We had a couple of isolated tiny cracks around our skis, and saw a few D.5 loose snow slides that ran yesterday on very steep terrain. They did not run far. Otherwise, no signs of instability observed.