Aspen
SnowpackJewel Campbell · Dec 9, 2024 · Aspen
Weather
It snowed all day, lightly in the morning, gathering in intensity midday, then returning to light snow. My skin track was filled in with 4-5" of light, low density snow as I returned to the truck. There was a constant light breeze from the northwest with moderate gusts and temperatures were in the low 20s. Visibility was low, about a half mile.
Snowpack
4" of light new snow covered a layer buried surface hoar on the old snow. The layer of buried surface hoar was intact and 2-3cm thick. This layer was not concerning but could be extremely concerning in the future if it remains intact and gets loaded with a bunch of new snow. Underneath was a settled slab from the thanksgiving storm about a foot and a half thick and 4-finger hard (on the hand hardness scale) at the bottom of the slab. I found soft layers of facets and depth hoar on the ground beneath the slab. One instability test (out of 4) broke and propagated in this bottom layer of facets but not easily. From 9,500'-10,200' the snow was 60-80cm (2-2.5 feet) deep.