Front Range
AvalancheAustin DiVesta · Nov 1, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
It was a beautiful day with some clouds lingering over Colorado Mines Peak. Winds at the ridgetop were light to moderate, allowing some snow to be blown around.
Snowpack
In areas near treeline that are sheltered from the winds, the snow is mostly soft and sugary. The snow here lacks any structure, and when you step on it, your boot sinks to the ground, about 20-30 cm of snow. Even above treeline, most of the snow remains relatively soft, except for a few small areas near the top of Mt. Russel and towards the headwall of Current Creek. I dug a pit on an east-facing slope around 12,200ft and found a snow height of 62 cm. When I conducted an Extended Column Test, it produced moderate propagation down 28 cm from the surface (ECTP11@34cm). Although I did not see well-developed facets in this pit, some of the snow from early October remained as a melt-freeze crust that was beginning to break down. Another pit on a northeast-facing slope around 12,200ft found a shallower snowpack at 44cm of wind-drifted snow on top of the new snow from last weekend. When I conducted the ECTs, they had easy propagation (ECTP3@25cm) on the density change within the new snow. Specifically on east and northeast aspects, the snow from October 28-29 will stick around, creating our weak layer.
Avalanche
I saw one small avalanche along the Current Creek Headwall. Looks like it ran within the storm last weekend from cornice fall.