Aspen
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek · Dec 22, 2021 · Aspen
Weather
American Lakes trailhead at 9:45 AM was calm, clear, and 19F. Clouds and wind increased throughout the day. Broken sky by 3:00 PM and steady Light wind with Moderate gusts and transporting snow near and above the treeline. Temperatures warmed throughout the day to around freezing (32F) by noon and stayed warm until 3:00PM back to 26F at the TH at 4:00PM.
Snowpack
Thin (<30cm) snow pack on all aspects, with southerly slopes holding discontinuous coverage, below 10,000 feet. Melt-freeze crusts developing on east and southerly slopes below and near treeline. Above 10,000 feet to the treeline the poor snow structure still exists but is mostly lacking a slab. Height of snow varied from 50-90cm. Ski pen mostly stayed around 20-30cm with boot pen to the ground. Above the treeline on wind loaded slopes the slab over weak snow exists. I observed several localized shooting cracks and collapses where ski pen was about 10-15cm. West and northwest slopes above treeline are scoured to the ground. Snow surface seemed to be a combination of crusts and near surface facets throughout the tour.
Avalanche
One avalanche observed just below the ridgeline in a couloir off of Leahy Peak.