Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler · Mar 6, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
The weather was unexpectedly nice. Winds were calm with occasional light gusts. Skies were sunny and warm. It was nice to write in my field book with ungloved hands.
Snowpack
On easterly slopes near treeline. Snow depth varied from 140cm (5-feet) to well over 200cm (7- feet). Snow was generally bullet proof knife hard rounded grains that were hard to dig through. There were a couple of surprising weaker layers. The upper weak layer was about 20cm (10-inches) deep and was failing on isolation on Compression Tests. This layer also failed on moderate shoulder taps on Extended Column Tests. There were no facets at this interface so it will hopefully heal quickly. The deeper layer did not react on Extended Column test and is rounding facets.