Aspen
AvalancheBrian Lazar · Dec 6, 2022 · Aspen
Weather
Overcast skies with S-1 to S2 during the entire day. It was cold and windy with plenty of drifting snow from west southwest winds.
Snowpack
Average snowpack depth is 130cm. There is 35-40cm of new low-density storm snow which shows signs of wind stiffening as you climb out of the trees. The storms from Thanksgiving period and the first week of December now make up a 1F- to 1F hard mid-pack slab that is 40cm thick. This rests on the 15cm-thick November drought which is showing signs of slowly gaining strength. The weak layer no longer pours out of the pit walls, and is 4F in hardness. This is still the weak layer of concern and is currently 80cm deep, well within range for human triggering. We experienced numerous rumbling collapses shaking trees up to 100m away. Notably, collapses are harder to initiate than just a week ago, but are spanning much larger areas. Snowpack is quieter, but spookier. The basal facets show signs of rounding and strengthening and are 1F- in hardness. This layer is becoming less and less of a concern.
Avalanche
Small sluffs in the storm snow were easy to initiate but nothing bigger than a D1. You might be able to get a D1.5 in long-running continuously steep terrain. Received report of a rider-triggered D1 storm slab in Marble Bowl.