Aspen
SnowpackMatt Huber · Nov 9, 2019 · Aspen
Weather
Warm and sunny. Skies were completely clear for the entire trip with temperatures quickly climbing to near 40 F by mid-morning. Winds were calm with no visible snow transport on any observed ridges.
Snowpack
Straight south aspects are generally bare up to about 13,000 feet, very thin and sporadic snow cover above that. North-facing aspects are holding snow down to near 8500 feet, with snow depths 30-50 centimeters near and above treeline, with less than 10 cm generally about 8500 feet. East facing slopes begin to have continuous coverage near 9500 feet and are similar in depth, 30-50 cm near and above treeline, deeper on wind-loaded slopes. Wind exposed west-facing slopes are bare or have very minimal coverage with protected slopes holding snow to roughly 9500 feet. Overall, the snowpack is mainly faceted on all northerly-facing slopes with 1-2mm surface hoar visible on wind and sun protected slopes. East and west-facing slopes have a thin crust at the surface on sun-exposed slopes but are faceted below the crust. Thin windslabs near and above treeline do remain on north through east aspects but are losing hardness and continuity with the faceting process