Sangre de Cristo
SnowpackRich Rogers · Dec 31, 2023 · Sangre de Cristo
Weather
Scattered clouds, calm, and felt warm despite temps in the mid 20s.
Snowpack
At the S. Colony Snotel site(11,400ft) the snow was the deepest with 55cm. Elsewhere, NTL along trail, avg. depth was 35cm. Traveling up from the Wet Mtn. Valley floor, I was not surprised to find shallow, unsupportive snow. Every "pole plant" went to ground regardless of depth. I was also not surprised to see ATL terrain scoured by the wind event that occurred earlier in the week(xmas). Any snow ATL was confined to leeward , some cross-loaded, features. In addition, these are some of the tallest peaks in this mountain range and are, generally, more exposed to wind erosion. Along trail, NTL, subtle changes to Southern aspects revealed surface crusts that were more supportive. Nearing the upper, more open, portion of drainage, I found isolated areas where the snow surface was still soft but textured by the wind. Deepest snow I found here was 42cm consisting of soft, weak, faceted snow. Attached media supports findings.