Front Range

Snowpack

The snowpack is very thin, and highly wind affected. ATL- scoured bare ground or hard wind slabs. The slabs in the alpine are easy to identify. They exist in pockets 20-200 feet wide or. They range from 0.5 to 6-7 feet thick in the deepest part. They are P+ in hardness, and at least along the margins, are overlying weak faceted layers. Near treeline- The recent storm snow has been moved down into the treeline zone. It is enough snow on the southerly aspects to obscure buried obstacles, and make identifying the pockets of hard slab a little more difficult to identify. Slab development if most pronounce at this elevation band, and exist is many cross loaded areas. The underlying snowpack consists, or faceted weak layers in the upper portion of the snowpack, and crust facet combos closer tothe ground in shaded places where the early season snow did not melt off. BTL- Very thin. ONly new snow on ground...must walk,