Front Range
AvalancheRyan Lewthwaite · Feb 26, 2020 · Front Range
Weather
A clear cold morning changed to overcast skies and snow at a rate of S1. The light northwest winds were transporting snow and gusting moderate at ridgeline. During the 12 o'clock hour the temperature dropped from 23F to 10F degrees.
Snowpack
Strong winds overnight, gusting to 60mph, has stripped soft snow from north and west aspects above treeline. Newly formed slabs of wind drifted snow can be found near and above treeline on south and east aspects. These slabs are variable in hardness(1F to Pencil) and thickness(1cm to 12inches). Hollow sounds are heard and localized cracking underfoot were observed. Propagating failures are possible in the drifted snow but they are stubborn to initiate. Southeast aspects near treeline have an unsupportable wind firmed surface in unprotected areas. While on a protected location the new soft snow sits on top of a pencil hard melt-freeze crust/ facet sandwich. A layer of near surface facets 24cm deep is worth investigating on this aspect and elevation with new snow loading. Depth hoar and facets comprise almost 1 meter of the basal snowpack.
Avalanche
No new avalanches observed.