Aspen
SnowpackJewel Campbell · Dec 30, 2024 · Aspen
Weather
It was an interesting day for weather. Overcast skies, heavy snow and strong west wind all morning with a brief sunny break midday before returning to stormy conditions for the afternoon. Snowfall was up to an inch an hour in the midmorning and midafternoon and was getting blown onto east slopes. The temps were around 20 degrees Fahrenheit all day but the windchill was much colder. Interestingly the snow was almost moist and a crust formed quickly on southern slopes during the brief window of sunshine.
Snowpack
The snow felt hollow and collapsed across slopes on south, southeast and east aspects where I toured. The snow was being transported to the east side of everything and cornices were forming quickly. I found a melt-freeze crust from yesterday (on all aspects, .5cm on east and 2cm on south and southeast) within the foot of new snow, and the new snow was breaking into two layers around this crust. The slab of new snow was 4F- (on the hand hardness scale) and I had easy propagation results directly underneath this slab in snowpack tests on an east slope. I didn't get very high yesterday, though I expect a similarly sensitive snowpack up higher with deeper snow and a thicker slab.