Front Range
AvalancheAndy Nelson · May 7, 2022 · Front Range
Weather
Warm with mostly sunny skies, a nice wind kept the snow surface cool, very little clouds in the am with increasing cloud cover towards 2pm
Snowpack
15-20cm of settling storm snow, seemed well bonded to the warmer, larger grained snow below. Ski pen was mostly 10-15cm throughout NTL and ATL elevations, better and lower where the wind kept the surface cool. In higher elevations in the alpine, the snow was colder and showed signs of wind effect/light loading/drifting but did not observe any cracking or much slab activity there.
Avalanche
Point releases and loose wet avalanching on aspects where trees, rocks, or cornices have been warmed. Only once did we observe a loose wet point release that had entrained and captured a blanket of storm snow, on a very steep slope near tree line. Got a good look around the Medicine Bow and the Never Summers and observed mostly loose wet avalanching on sunny aspects.