Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler · Feb 22, 2024 · Front Range
Weather
It was snowing continuously throughout the day, and winds were competing between westerly and easterly. Visibility was poor all day.
Snowpack
On southerly aspects near and below treeline, the snow depth was about 100cm, with about 15cm of new snow and a layer cake of crusts and facets below the surface. These crusts seemed stout enough to provide support to protect deeper weak which appeared to be rounding. Extended Column Tests (ECT) we did not have any propagating results. Higher in elevation, 12700 feet we probed around a bowl which faced from east to southeast. There was enormous variability in depth from about 20cm to over a meter without any apparent change in surface texture. This was just above an avalanche from the weekend, although we were unable to see the crown as it had been refilled. Digging on this slope was unremarkable with no failures on ECTs. We did get one collapse on a steep wind-loaded face that faced northeasterly. The wind was loading from multiple directions and there was some cracking in the surface snow where snow had been drifted.