Front Range
AvalancheMax Strotbeck · Jan 19, 2024 · Front Range
Weather
Skies were overcast, with temperatures in the low twenties. Mostly dry, but snow began falling in the afternoon at a rate of about 1cm an hour. Moderate westerly winds were blowing snow near treeline.
Snowpack
Near Zimmerman Lake Trailhead, I found a height of snow of about 80cm. Ski penetration was about 15cm in more open areas where the wind had blown snow and 25cm in more sheltered terrain. However, when I took my ski off, I sank all the way to the ground, sinking through the recent slab that has developed since our storm cycle started on January 4, and triggered my first collapse of the day in the process. As I proceeded through the trees, I triggered two or three more minor to moderate collapses. As I neared treeline, ski penetration diminished to 0-15cm as the recent winds have densified the upper snowpack. I did note two or three more collapses, perhaps occurring in an area where the snowpack was more shallow. I dug my first snowpit on an east aspect near treeline that had been previously wind-loaded. Here I found a snow depth of 155cm, with over half of that (85cm) being new snow since January 4. An extended column test here did not yield any propagating results. I dug a second snowpit on a southeast aspect that was also near treeline and previously wind loaded. The pit had a slightly greater height of snow (164cm) and slab thickness (103cm), and also did not yield any propagating results during an extended column test. There were multiple crusts in the lower pack, but all were decomposing and mostly faceted. While the snowpack instability tests I conducted produced no propagating results, in areas where the slab is thinner, you are more likely to be able to trigger the weak persistent grains that fell prior to January 4 and potentially cause an avalanche.
Avalanche
I did not observe any avalanches today.