Aspen
AvalancheBrandon Levy, Morgan Boyles · Apr 6, 2021 · Aspen
Weather
Warm day until this afternoon when the temperature dropped and winds and cloud cover increased.
Snowpack
There was a 3cm crust on the surface at 11500' on north-facing slopes. The crust held up throughout the day at higher elevations (near treeline and above). A profile at a similar location illustrated horizontal and vertical ice lenses in the mid-pack and on the top of the depth hoar layer 60cms from the ground. However, the depth hoar was still dry and angular with some rounding of the grains. A compression test failed on the 15th tap in the depth hoar. Snow depth varied considerably across the terrain from over 200cms to 130cms depending on localized wind loading on the near-treeline slopes we observed. Flat slopes below treeline were unsupportable to skis by noon with a ski penetration of 40cms.
Avalanche
We observed numerous natural wet slab and loose wet avalanches in the Castle Creek and Cooper Creek Drainages. Most wet slabs were size 2 with one classified as a size 2.5 on the destructive scale. There were several observations where it appeared that loose wet avalanches triggered wet slab avalanches. Most wet slabs occurred on east and southeast-facing slopes near treeline between 11500' and 11800'.