Front Range
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Nov 14, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
Light winds and few clouds with temperatures near freezing.
Snowpack
Overall this area has lost coverage with the recent warm and sunny weather. The snowpack is thin and the coverage is patchy. Southerlies are back to dirt in most places. I waded into a southeast-facing drift near the top of the Pass and it was knee-deep with moist snow throughout. Northwest through north to east aspects hold patches of continuous snow at upper elevations. Areas just below ridgelines, gully features, and the lee side of convex rolls hold these pockets of harder, drifted snow. These pockets transition quickly to areas of unsupportable facets which transition to the ground. Near-surface facets were widespread and rested an inch deep in places. In some areas, the snowpack was completely composed of faceted snow, and ski and boot penetration was to the ground. The melt-freeze crust at the interface of the early and late October snow was still unreactive in tests. This layer also seemed less continuous than in late October and was not continuous across the slopes I dug on. All the October snow is becoming one layer of facets and depth hoar in places. On more easterly aspects, there was a thin and breakable crust on the surface of the near-faceted layer. There were obvious facets immediately above and below this crust. If the widespread near-surface facet layer gets buried intact, it'll be a layer of concern moving forward. The other layer of concern is the interface of the basal facets and the wind-packed layer which continues to be reactive in snowpit tests. Be cautious of any new load that falls onto this weak snowpack.