Front Range
AvalancheEric Shaw · Dec 28, 2022 · Front Range
Weather
Hidden Valley ski area. 10,500 ft. E aspect. Scattered clouds in the morning with light west winds. HN 5 cm's above 10,600 feet. Trace new snow BTL but increasing throughout the day. Moderate west winds in the afternoon. Sky obscured. S1-S2.
Snowpack
NNE - 10,300 ft. - Slope angle 20 degrees. HS 140 cm's. Compression test results: CTMRP down 15 cm's. CTMSP down 35 cm's. We dug on a wind loaded test slope and found two weak layers. Large well developed facets at the ground and buried near surface facets down 35 cm's. Bottom 45 cm's of the snowpack was a mix of basal facets and depth hoar.
Avalanche
We triggered al windslab on a small test slope in drifted new snow at 10,600 feet. - NTL - E - SS - ASc - D1 - R2