Aspen
Quick reportCarly Valerious · Feb 19, 2026 · Aspen
Weather
Light snow in the morning that picked up briefly later in the afternoon. Overcast sky with very little visibility of surrounding peaks. The winds were generally light.
Snowpack
The average height of snow in this area was around 1 meter with storm snow totals around 50 cm, basically half of the total snowpack. While I did not observe major collapsing or cracking, which could be due to the heavy travel this area sees, the structure observed on northern and southern-facing slopes is a concern. The interface we are worried about right now is that between the new storm snow and what was buried around February 11th. On a north-facing slope, snow pack tests showed propagation at this interface. Southern-facing slopes contain crusts with a thin layer of facets between them resting below the new snow (see profile). This structure is most concerning on southeast-facing slopes where those crusts are not as strong as on directly south facing slopes.
Avalanche
Due to low visibility it was hard to get a good sense of avalanche activity around the area. During the brief window where I could see Highlands Ridge, a large avalanche in Maroon Bowl presented itself. I am sure there are other avalanches I missed that will be observed during the next high pressure period.