Front Range
AvalancheAnonymous · Jan 1, 2014 · Front Range
Weather
Overcast and Snowing with some wind out of the Northwest. 15 degrees F.
Snowpack
There was about 50 cm or more, in places, of fresh snow from the most recent 2 storms. This deposited a lot of snow on the older snowpack we have had in the area. Pretty low moisture content but there was a fair amount of wind loading going on. Surface snow was powder.
Avalanche
No avalanches were observed but we did see some large shooting cracks in the storm snow at the top of "Tea Cup Bowl" at approximately 11,200 feet, southeast facing, between 35 and 40 degrees. The storm snow appears to be really touchy on steeper slopes and could easily run on the older layers. The roll over convexity at the top of "Tea Cup Bowl" was where we saw the worst of the shooting cracks and probably would have run if we were making turns. Any slopes in the area that were below 35 degrees did not have any visible shooting cracks or noticeable settling.