Aspen
SnowpackJewel Campbell · Mar 20, 2024 · Aspen
Weather
Mild temperatures all day with light to moderate wind from the west and southwest. Cloud cover varied, sun was in and out all day. Wind kept temperatures cool up high.
Snowpack
Below tree line on southern slopes snow was rapidly disappearing and the dust layer from early March was at the surface. The surface crust was cracking and collapsing across the whole mountainside in both open and wooded areas. The snow was saturated to the ground. As I moved higher on south slopes the snowpack deepened, the dust layer was more deeply buried (about 30cm) and the snow was less slushy. Water had percolated down to the dust layer and was pooling just underneath it. Above tree line south slopes were firm with just enough corn to ski by midafternoon. I found a very firm snowpack on southeast slopes above tree line. There was no liquid water that day, but I did find evidence of pooled water from previous days in the dust layer about 30cm down. Below this ice layer the snow was dry. The snow was 166cm deep here and I did not find propagation in the buried surface hoar layer (55cm down). The snowpack became knife hard about 80cm down and I did not dig to the depth hoar to test it. On west slopes above tree line the snow depth was 30-40cm near the ridgetops. I moved lower for a snowpit (11,600') and dug a pit that was 125cm deep. In this pit I found dry faceted snow, and had propagating results in the depth hoar. There were large cornices on east facing ridges that will be a concern with warming temperatures. I saw loose dry avalanches on steep northeast east slopes from the mid-March storm. I also saw some loose wet activity from rock bands and cliffs above treeline on south facing slopes but the sluff were quite small and did not entrain snow.