Sangre de Cristo
SnowpackRich Rogers · Jan 17, 2024 · Sangre de Cristo
Weather
Oddly warm TH air temp was 36ºF @ 8am. Later in the day, in Westcliffe, CO it was 45ºF. Moments when the wind wasnt trying to knock me over it felt warm @9,000ft. Though the strong winds forced me to lean in to keep my balance. Even in sheltered locations it still felt windy, scattered clouds till 11am when storm moved in and engulfed the mtns at all elevations. Try to get to NTL another time when there is more continuous snow cover BTL.
Snowpack
It was not easy to tell how much new snow was still present from most recent storm, 2-5" existed only in shady and sheltered places @ TH(7600ft). Along ridge lines just below 9,000ft, old snow was stripped from any open area and the blowing snow seemed to dissipate back into the atmosphere. The little snow that was there was either loose, large grain facets only a few inches deep or a 4" thick, 'ski edge' hard layer of drifted snow over small faceted grains ~12-24" deep. From a distance, forested but burnt leeward aspects, higher up NTL, seemed to hold more snow.