Aspen
AvalancheBrandon Levy · Dec 20, 2021 · Aspen
Snowpack
The snow surface is weakening (faceting) under the recent weather of cold, clear nights. Ski penetration was 10cms while boot penetration was to the ground. Snow depth was 100cm on northeast and east-facing slopes and about half of that on the west and northwest-facing slopes. The layer of surface hoar buried around 12/6 is a prominent stripe in snow profiles on northeast and northwest-facing terrain features on Richmond Ridge. On the slopes that tilt more northeasterly the surface hoar is large (1-2cms). Long column tests did not produce propagating results on this layer. However, on a more northwest-facing slope the surface hoar was much smaller and is resting on a spatially variable melt-freeze crust. This layer collapsed with cracking wrapping around the corner to more north-facing terrain (35-40ft). A long column test on this northwest-facing slope produced a propagating result on the buried surface hoar. Size matters but on the northwest-facing slopes where the surface hoar rests on the spatially variable melt-freeze crust it seems more reactive than on the shadier aspects where it is getting squashed and blending into the soft snow and facets on either side.
Avalanche
None observed