Grand Mesa
AvalancheBrandon Levy · Mar 3, 2021 · Grand Mesa
Weather
Clear with gusty wind from the south throughout the morning. Chilly start in the shade but the ambient temperature warmed significantly to upper twenties and eventually above freezing at 11000'.
Snowpack
Surface conditions on the north-facing slopes above the Cliffs avalanche area consisted of small grained near surface faceted crystals. On a northwest-facing slope above Cliffs #5 there was a temperature crust under these faceted grains at the surface--see profile for more detail. Anything with a slight southerly tilt had a 5cm thick melt-freeze crust topped with a dust of small grained faceted crystals before the temperatures warmed above freezing. There is a definitive differentiation between the persistent weak layers buried in the middle of December and the middle of January. The latter shows significant signs of rounding and has gained resistance. An extended column test failed on the layer of depth hoar buried in mid-December (ECTP19 down 95 cms on 2-4mm DH). This result was complicated by some shrubbery at the base of the isolated column. The snow depth at the profile location was 115 cm with generally 140cms observed elsewhere. Skinny ski penetration was 5cm.
Avalanche
Very small blower triggered loose dry avalanches at Aspen Bank and a few other north side cutbanks