Front Range
AvalancheAmanda Loughlin · Mar 19, 2024 · Front Range
Weather
Warm with temps in the 30s, clear skies becoming few, and calm with light northwest afternoon wind.
Snowpack
The snowpack showed consistent signs of solar impact with wet snow and melt freeze crusts. Snow pits dug on east and southeast aspects both revealed surface hoar and several melt freeze crusts. These crusts were P to K in hardness, 1-5cm thick, and I found buried surface hoar under one crust in each pit. These crust/ surface hoar combinations did not produce results in extended column tests (ECTs) or compression tests (CTs). One snow pit dug on east aspect below treeline revealed multiple layers of melt freeze crusts, facets, rounds, and basal facets. ECTs on this aspect produced ECTX twice and CT25@ ↓105cm (RP) on 3mm facets. A second snow pit dug on southeast aspect near treeline also revealed multiple layers of melt freeze crusts, facets, rounds, and 3-6mm depth hoar. CTs here produced CT19@ ↓58cm (SC) and CT12@↓78cm (SC) both on 1mm facet layer sandwiched between a melt freeze crust and depth hoar. Height of snow (HS) on southeast aspects near treeline ranged between 65-180cm.
Avalanche
I observed several small D1 wet loose avalanches off the southwest side of Mount Parnassus.