Aspen

Snowpack

Dylan Craaybeek · Feb 26, 2023 · Aspen

Weather

Overcast and warm (2 degrees C in the town of Marble at 8:30) began snowing (S-1) around 10:30 with steady Moderate southwest winds.

Snowpack

Irregular wind-loading patterns at all elevations including below the treeline. Southerly-facing slopes have both a supportable layer of wind-packed rounds about 5-10cm thick with a melt-freeze crust 1-3cm thick on the top of it. There is a layer of 4F hard (on the hand hardness scale) rounding facets about 1 meter below the snow surface but this layer shows non-propagating results in extended column tests after additional loading steps. Wind-loaded slopes in unusual places are the primary danger in this area.