Front Range
AvalancheJesse Rochette · Mar 31, 2015 · Front Range
Weather
Sunny and in the 30F to 40F range. No exact temperature taken. Observation on east aspect at between 13,000 and 14,000 feet. Wind was calm with signs of wind blown snow over the last week. Stratus clouds, 10-20% cloud cover
Snowpack
Relatively consolidated snowpack with hard crust in A.M., becoming slushy in the mid-afternoon. Three 1/4 inch by 20+ foot cracks observed running perpendicular to the slope and forming large arcing fracture lines across the largest continuous snowfield on the slope. Cracks were separated by roughly 100 feet vertical from each other. Cracks were not shooting during our ascent/descent, and were lightly filled with blown snow, indicating earlier formation. Cracks first noticed during glissade when small (less than 1 square meter) chunk broke off uphill of the uppermost fracture. The broken piece remained in position and no material slid. Slide debris (wind blown?) also visible in the 13,500 range coming from the rock outcropping north of the 16 golden stairs.
Avalanche
None observed, although debris from previous small slide in higher rock band noticed.