Sangre de Cristo
AvalancheRich Rogers · Feb 11, 2024 · Sangre de Cristo
Weather
Sunrise temps in Wet Mtn Valley floor lingered +10 to -2 till bout 10am. After I started ascent I didnt use a puffy jacket all day. Skies were mostly clear with few periodic clouds that produced flurries along ridges. A calm morning lead way to late afternoon moderate WSW winds initiated blowing snow ATL- upper end of BTL(10,500). Below treeline winds were blowing new snow out of trees. Otherwise, new snow was rolling across the surfaces of large meadows.
Snowpack
Height of snow below treeline varied 20-65cm on Northerly aspects and mostly weak. I could imagine some crusts are present in a more wild snowpack on southerly aspects. Did not observed due to skier compaction BTL with in old ski area. Snowpack near 11,000ft harbored persistent slab structure with HS 80-150cm on W and E aspects. Foot pen. in these locations was 32-60cm down to a supportive pencil or 1F hard slab. Though multiple snowpack tests, NTL, were stubborn in shallow areas and unreactive where it was sheltered and deeper, I still remain skeptical places where the snowpack is thin and connected to steeper wind drifted slopes. Closer to 12,000ft, I dug a quick shallow(60-70cm) hand pit on a gladed SE slope and found a sandwich of new snow, crusts and soft facets. Foot pen. here was to ground, though ski pen., at all elev., was only within new snow. On this SE aspect, the new snow did not bond really well and skis would slip, laterally, on old crusts along small, steep, drifts and windward "wells" near trees. Previously mentioned, observing "zipper-like" crusts on surface of new snow by mid afternoon. At no point did I feel the snow get heavy. Leads me to think it formed solely from radiating heat from direct sun. New snow bonded better on northerly slopes were crusts did not exist. See media for pit observations.
Avalanche
none observed.