Aspen
SnowpackJason Konigsberg Blase Reardon · Jan 8, 2016 · Aspen
Weather
Calm to light winds with no snow being transported. HST 12-14" at ~5-6%.
Snowpack
The snowpack in this area can be categorized into one of three categories. (1) In areas such as BTL and where there were large naturals during the XMas cycle the snowpack is weak but there is no slab. (2) In areas within about 500 hundred vertical feet of the ridgeline, NTL, the snowpack is deep and strong. We found areas that were not previously wind-loaded with a snow depth of greater than 2 meters. Lots of probing indicated a snowpack with increasing hardness to the ground. (3) The third category is where the uncertainty lies and where triggering a Persistent Slab avalanche remains possible. These areas are around 1 to 1.5 meters deep and a strong slab lies over top of weak basal facets We dug a pit on a SW aspect and a NE aspect near treeline and we were surprised to get an ECTP result on depth hoar in both tests. As all other signs such as lack of recent avalanches, lack of human-triggered avalanches and no cracking or collapsing point to increasing stability we found our test results disconcerting and continued to travel cautiously around and not on steep slopes.--- Reports yesterday were of widespread D1 avalanches (AS and N) during high PI rates. There is a layer of small grained facets that the new snow fell on but there were no propagating cracks or any avalanche activity related to this weak layer today. We found easy shears on this layer in almost all tests but the instability is quickly subsiding.