Aspen
SnowpackColin Mitchell · Mar 11, 2016 · Aspen
Weather
Calm winds and rapidly warming temperatures. The pass had warmed 12 degrees F in three hours before my visit.
Snowpack
The snowpack along the Hwy 133 corridor is melting quickly. The Crystal valley is largely snow-free, and avalanche hazard is NONE. The lower slopes above the grade on the north side of the pass are holding little snow now. Flatiron has an average HS of around 6" with a lot of bare patches, and rocks and vegetation poking through. The other lower paths (The Headaches, Short chutes, etc) are mostly snow free. Lone Tree bowl has lost a lot of volume in the past two weeks. Only the NE facing aspects of the bowl are holding snow, and vegetation, downed timber and rocks are starting to emerge. The slope with the namesake lone tree is now disconnected from the track. A couple of D.5 loose wet slides were visible. They only involved the upper few inches of the snowpack. Small terrain features are clearly visible, and the low-angle track is holding very little snow. Hairpin bowl had very similar conditions. At the study plot, HS is down to 34". The snowpack has a supportable crust on the surface that is at least 8" thick. Foot pen < 1 cm. Below that, the snowpack is comprised of moist rounds and rounding facets. Overall, it is getting increasingly difficult to imagine a slide that would reach the highway here.