Aspen
SnowpackBrandon Levy, Polly Layton · Feb 16, 2021 · Aspen
Weather
Relatively cool day with periods of snowfall of one inch per hour. Wind was light and generally from the northwest but there were periods of west wind and north wind. I measured 8" of new snow with a snow water equivalent of .5" at 1445 at the summit elevation. The roadside stake roughly 600' lower only had 5.5" on it.
Snowpack
The previous crown is completely filled in and undetectable on the surface. The snow on the bed surfaces is relatively homogenous and over 1m deep now. Where we dug the facets only extended 5-20cms above the ground with a "wavy" layer depending on how much the prior activity gouged them out. Capping the facets was a crust which we identified as the crust that was buried in this area on 2/3. The crust provided support for the overlying snow. When the crust was cut in a standard compression test, an easy, sudden result occurred (CT8 SC down 121cms on 2-4mm FC/DH). When the crust was not cut a harder result occurred still at the same layer (CT26 down 121 cms on 2-4mm FC/DH)