Aspen

Avalanche

Brandon Levy, Jewel Campbell · Feb 22, 2025 · Aspen

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Weather

Beautiful day with increasing northwest wind.

Snowpack

We both expected to see instability tests fail near the early February meltdown crust; however, the layer of concern is the depth hoar which extends above the surface roughness and vegetation now. The snow was moist by 1300 on west-facing slopes and ski pressure produced roller balling which we also observed on our way out at the east-facing West Roaring Fork Avalanche Area above State Highway 82 near the Upper Lost Man Trailhead.

Avalanche

We saw several fresh avalanches all on east-facing slopes near and above treeline. Several older avalanches were mainly obscured, difficult to code, and likely occurred around Valentines Day.