Front Range

Avalanche

CO Mtn School AIARE 1 · Dec 7, 2014 · Front Range

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Weather

Warm temps and lots of sun this weekend in RMNP. Saturday and Sunday, we observed highs close to freezing at 10,000' Winds were light to moderate near and below treeline. Strong W/NW winds were observed above TL with some snow being transported. Friday had the only measurable precip, 2-3 cm of snow and graupel.

Snowpack

Below TL: 50-70cm deep, mostly weak snow. Facets exist throughout the snowpack, but are still generally small. Near TL: 70-120cm deep, with a 'midpack' comprised of 1F-P windslabs. Basal facets were also present, but not yet depth hoar. Above TL: Variable depth, from completely wind scoured to 2m drifts. Windslab varied from thin and breakable to hard and supportable. On Sunday, we observed reactive 10-20cm windslabs on convex and leeward test slopes, near and above TL.

Avalanche

No avalanches observed