Front Range
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Mar 18, 2021 · Front Range
Weather
Very litte wind, clear skies, and warm but not unseasonably warm temps
Snowpack
I went and checked out the recent avalanche that caught and carried a skier on 3/17/21. The avalanche broke very deep and to the ground for about 10 feet wide. As it ran, it "stepped up", and broke on recently buried facets over a very hard wind-packed slab. At the apron, where the snowpack was thinner and softer, the avalanche broke at the ground again. It was surprising that the avalanche didn't propagate into the adjacent steep terrain. The area where the avalanche was triggered looked to have similar characteristics to other steep and rocky, northerly terrain in this area- previously scoured at the top of the slope from northerly winds, and filled back in with deep wind drifts. This loading pattern led to a very uneven distribution of snow with thick hard slabs and just a few feet over, very thin spots where you can trigger an avalanche on depth hoar.---I dug on more open northerly slopes and found a deeper and more consistent snowpack. The average snow depth was 2 meters deep and no propagating results were observed in an ECT on the recently buried near surface facets.
Avalanche
Picture in this observation are previously reported avalanches. No new avalanches were observed.