Aspen
AvalancheMatt Huber · Jan 20, 2019 · Aspen
Weather
Temperatures remained warm for the entire trip. The surface snow at lower elevations was slightly moist. No visible snow being transported at ridgeline.
Snowpack
The total depth of snow at The Lunch Spot is 195 centimeters. Overall the snowpack here is 1F+ to pencil hard and relatively homogenous. The only layer I could persuade a failure out of was at the recent storm snow and old snow surface interface, 25 centimeters from the surface. Extended column tests produced propagating results on hit 24. The failure layer was a mixture of 2 mm graupel and surface oar
Avalanche
Multiple shallow soft slab natural avalanches were observed opposite the quarry road on Northwest facing slopes near 9600' ranging in destructive size 1 to 2. On the southeast facing slope of Elk Mountain, three large soft slab avalanches were observed, running over 1500 vertical feet