Aspen
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek · Dec 25, 2023 · Aspen
Weather
Cold with moderate winds above about 12,000 feet switching between west and north. Most of the snow being blown by the wind seemed to just be sublimating rather than being transported onto leeward slopes but some clearly wind-loaded southeast slopes produced some cracking and likely would have slid on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees.
Snowpack
Average height of new storm snow (HST) ranged from about 25-30cm on southerly slopes to around 40-50cm on northerly slopes.
Avalanche
Many Loose Dry avalanches on all aspects and elevations but mostly fresh Loose Dry avalanches occurred on southerly, wind-loaded slopes just below ridgelines. There were a few small slab avalanches on lee-slopes also just below the ridgeline that were isolated to the new snow and did not step down to deeper weak layers.