Aspen

Avalanche

blase reardon · Apr 1, 2014 · Aspen

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Weather

Strong winds mid-morning even at road level. Drifting and blowing snow below treeline. Lull midday made for more pleasant snowpit. Winds picked up again early afternoon. Nearly all SE-S-SW-W slopes scoured down to 3-30 dust layer.

Snowpack

HS 350-75 cm @ 11,300 ft, 32* NNE slope near treeline. 10 cm 4F+ getting progressively harder w depth to 1F/1F+ @ ~125 cm below surface. Several thin (< 5cm) softer layers but hardness differences < 1 step. These layers composed of decaying graupel, a few very fine-grained FC, even a few MF grains & 1 thin MF crust@~250 cm. No prominent PWLs. Dust layers @ 10 (3-30) & 50 cm (3-26) below surface; no distinct faceting observed above or below dust layers.

Avalanche

None observed. Anthracite glide cracks wrinkling.