Aspen
AvalancheBrian Lazar · Dec 10, 2021 · Aspen
Weather
Started off cool and got colder as the day progressed. Moderates west to northwest winds were strong enough to drift snow at ridgeline even at low elevations. Skies varied from overcast to obscured, and showed signs of wanting to clear by around 2pm. No additional snowfall after 10am this morning.
Snowpack
Most of this area has no snow prior to the storms from this week. All southerly terrain, and west-facing slopes consisted of 50 to 60cm of recent storm snow on ground. No weak layers of note except for a density change about 20cm down in the storm snow. This "interface" seems transient and should not pose a problem after a day or two. Northerly terrain held preexisting snow, which became very weak and faceted during the November dry spell. The facets would almost pour out the pit wall. Numerous rumbling collapses while travelling along the ridgeline. The storm snow is cohesive enough to propagate failures some distance, and I could produce failures on the top of the faceted layers in ECTs and PSTs. Stayed well clear of any steep northerly terrain where human-triggered avalanches are likely.
Avalanche
Surprisingly didn't observe any avalanche activity, but rumbling collapses and terrible snowpack structure made travel on any steep north-facing terrain a very risky proposition.