Aspen
AvalancheBrian Lazar · Apr 4, 2019 · Aspen
Weather
Mostly cloud, warm and calm. The sun would poke through the clouds here and there making for some greenhouse conditions. Only very light and periodic winds along ridgelines.
Snowpack
Storm snow over the last 24 hours showed signs of rapid settlement. There was around 2 inches at 9200 ft. Storm snow depth increased with elevation with an average of 6 inches above 11,000 ft. On south and west aspects this had settled to 2 to 3 inches by noon. Snow was moist on all aspects up to 11,700 ft by 1pm. Underneath are 5-8cm stout melt-freeze crusts that showed no signs of breaking down above 10,000 ft today. Lower than this the snowpack was getting quite slushy in the afternoon. Almost no sign of wind affect, and wind-drifted slabs are not a concern at least below 12,000 ft. The snowpack, although still increasing in snow water equivalent, has lost almost a meter a depth since March 14, with average snowpack depth of around 3m. Surprisingly, we got one moderate-size collapse ascending a steep east-facing slope below ridgline suggesting persistent weak layers are still present in the lower snowpack. That was the only sign of instability outside wet surface sluffing. Cornices have melted back quite a bit over the last two weeks, and are not as overhanging and threatening on many slopes. This is not the case on some slopes above 12,000 ft.
Avalanche
Storm snow on all aspects was moist to wet by 1 pm, and either releasing as small natural Loose wet avalanches, or would shed off upon skier initiation. The wet slides were slow moving and not running more than 100-200 vertical feet.