Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler · Apr 28, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
The day started out calm and sunny but as the day progressed the wind picked up from the northwest and was at times intense blowing snow. The wind kept surface temperatures cold.
Snowpack
The height of storm snow had settled in the trees to 15cm (6 inches). This was in two layers with firmer snow beneath fluffy new snow. Near treeline, this snow was not very reactive as a slab but would easily slide off steeper rollers on southerly slopes but just at the width of your ski pressure. As we gained elevation, the snow become more slabby and reactive on southerly and easterly aspects. Wind drifts were around 12 to 16 inches thick and easy to trigger at your skis, with cracks shooting many meters in front of us on steeper terrain. We were able to trigger a couple of small avalanches from the ridgeline as we climbed. Cross-loading was active, and I was able to trigger a small pocket on a northeasterly aspect on a ski cut. On northeasterly aspects, we found a layer of near-surface faceting above the dust crust that was buried about 25cm deep. These facets were very obvious, but test results were resistant and none propagating. This is a layer to keep an eye on.