Aspen
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek · Apr 28, 2023 · Aspen
Weather
Storm on Thursday night followed by strong northerly winds all day Friday with clear skies most of Friday and all of Friday night. Clear sky and calm winds on Saturday.
Snowpack
Homogenous snowpack of melt forms on all slopes where the dust layer is visible on the snow surface except for high-elevation northerly slopes. The new snow from Thursday night is not bonding well at all to the dust crust it fell on but six to eight inches of new snow settled to less than two inches by Saturday afternoon. Wind Slab avalanches were Isolated and Touchy on Friday increasing in size as the day progressed and more snow accumulated on leeward slopes.
Avalanche
Two small skier-triggered avalanches on a wind-loaded slope and numerous natural avalanches and cornice failures observed throughout the day on Friday. One small Wet Slab avalanche was observed on Saturday afternoon on and easterly slope failing on the dust crust below the new snow.