Front Range
SnowpackMax Strotbeck · Dec 13, 2025 · Front Range
Weather
Scattered skies with light west winds below treeline. Temperatures in the mid-twenties to near freezing. No new snow.
Snowpack
A widespread crust exists on the surface of all slopes I traveled today (NW-N-NE). It is 1-2mm thick and hardly noticeable when skiing downhill. In the lower below treeline slopes I traveled, the height of snow was around 50-60cm, and as I got to around treeline it was closer to 70-90cm. After gaining 100-200 feet of elevation from the trailhead, ski penetration was limited to about 5cm, though boot penetration was still to the ground until I ascended a further couple hundred feet. At the uppermost below treeline elevations and near treeline, I found a 40-60cm slab, mostly four to one finger hard on the hand hardness scale, resting atop 25cm of very weak fist hard facets and depth hoar. Extended column tests propagated at the slab and basal facet layer interface in each of my three tests (ECTP11, ECTP13, ECTP15) at different locations in these elevation bands.