Aspen
AvalancheMatt Huber · Jan 19, 2019 · Aspen
Weather
The temperatures were in the high teens with mostly cloudy skies through most of the trip. Winds were calm near and below treeline but were visibly strong enough from the West to transport snow at ridgeline.
Snowpack
The total snow depth was 95 centimeters at 9600'. The top 20 centimeters was recent snowfall. There were easy extended column test results with no propagation, ECTN 9, at the bottom of this layer. At 40 centimeters down, a 1 centimeter layer of buried near surface facets produced propagating extended column test results, ECTP 14. On the same block in the same test, the interface at the depth hoar layer failed with propagating results.
Avalanche
Most avalanches were observed on North through East facing slopes at all elevations. The two largest were destructive size 2.5 hard slab avalanches that released naturally on north aspects from above treeline. Both had obvious steps in the bed surface where portions had taken the entire seasons snowpack. A small slab avalanche was observed on an open, north facing slope below treeline with a slope angle that measured below 30 degrees.