Front Range
SnowpackRyan Zarter · Mar 13, 2020 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Intermittent blue sky and clouds while I was out in the field, with an occasional snowflake falling. Southwest winds were moving recent new snow around near and above treeline. Traveling from Loveland Pass to Leadville, I encountered heavy snow (S2) and strong winds in Ten Mile Canyon. Heavy snow continued over Fremont Pass to Leadville, finally letting up around 5 p.m. with a couple of inches of accumulation in Leadville.
Snowpack
The snow surface was cold and dry everywhere that I traveled. A snowpit was dug high in Sister 2, in an area that slid during mitigation in early February. Structure consisted of recent snow on a slab that sits over depth hoar. ECTP and ECTN results on the slab/depth hoar interface. Drifting snow was starting to feel like it was slabbing up while I was out today, though in most areas it was unreactive. With some work at a wind-loaded feature at ridge top I was able to trigger a small (D1) wind slab.