Front Range
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Dec 6, 2018 · Front Range
Weather
Light snow showers at times today with mostly obscured skies. The clouds would break every once in a while but generally low visibility. Light winds near treeline with what seemed like stronger winds at ridgetop. Snow transport was minimal in this area and throughout most of the mountains on the drive from Leadville through the Front Range.
Snowpack
Below treeline the snowpack is soft and a slab is lacking although weak snow is plentiful. No avalanche concerns in the below treeline areas I traveled.---As in many places, as soon as you get to the near treeline elevation band the snowpack is deeper, more supportable and cohesive slab is continuous through terrain. On a north aspect I got propagating results with shoulder blows in and extended column test. The result was on the mid-pack facet layer (see attached pit). In the past week or so this weak layer has gained strength and it is not as soft as it once was. This is a generalization as this is my first time near Berthoud Pass this winter. The snowpack in the Northern Mts seems fairly similar though.---I also visited a southeast near treeline slope near a recently reported avalanche. I dug in a more sheltered area and found a snowpack structure that was poor with multiple thin crusts and faceted layers. This structure would not do well when loaded as the recent avalanche proved.---From what I have seen the main concern in this area is triggering an avalanche in a wind-loaded areas. Above treeline there are plenty of those areas. The wind drifts are thick so they would be hard to trigger, but a large hard-slab avalanche would be the result.