Front Range
SnowpackWil Rickards · Apr 12, 2018 · Front Range
Weather
Gusting winds and sunshine. The pack had frozen the previous evening.
Snowpack
We had three distinct snow experiences today, based on altitude and time of day. On the skin in there was evidence of warm wet snow yesterday with large pin wheels on E and NE facing slopes. We left the TH at 9:30, the pack supported us on the skin in with my 240lbs floating on top for a majority of the way in. It was windy at the 12350' summit. The skiing down to 11,800 was in wind blown snow that was buttery. Then down to 11,400 it was pleasant corn. Both of these slopes were free from trees. As we dropped into the trees, I was sinking to boot depth and the snow was very heavy making it hard to turn. We dug a pit on a SE facing slope at 11,600. 2 layers in particular were cause for concern if the snow warmed up much more. We kept our angles below 30º except for a couple of short roll overs.