Front Range
AvalancheThomas White · Feb 18, 2022 · Front Range
Weather
It was a very blustery day. At 11,800 between 10:30 am and 3:30 pm the winds were westerly and moderate to strong. The snow transport in the morning was so heavy that visibility was frequently near zero. Between gusts when the sky was visible the cloud cover was broken early in the day and decreased to scattered by afternoon. There was lots of snow available for transport from 9 cm received late Wednesday.
Snowpack
By the end of the day the nearly all aspects were showing some form of wind effect. Windward slopes were either scoured or sastrugi on typical HS <50 cm. Leeward slopes were seeing strong deposition of transported snow in dense layers (ski pen < 10cm). Southern and northern aspects were cross loading in terrain features or behind tree clusters.
Avalanche
On a wind loaded eastern aspect at 11,800 observers noticed debris from several small avalanches that appear to have slid overnight.