Sangre de Cristo
SnowpackJohn Manner · Feb 18, 2014 · Sangre de Cristo
Weather
Sunny/bluebird day no wind below 10,000 and seemed to be above 40F. Above 11,000 there was a light(maybe 5-10 mph) west by northwesterly wind(on southern aspects). At 9:30 above 11,000 it seemed to be around 25F.
Snowpack
Sunny/bluebird day no wind below 10,000 and seemed to be above 40F. Above 11,000 there was a light(maybe 5-10 mph) west by northwesterly wind(on southern aspects). At 9:30 above 11,000 it seemed to be around 25F. Below 10K WS-S aspects were drying out fast, pure slush in the afternoon. between 10,000-11,000 the snow in the morning had a hard 2-4cm crust/slab which was hard enough you could hold in hand, dinner plate, and bigger sized pieces in hand with completely faceted snow about 2’ deep below that to the ground. Below Treeline we noted steep grades on sw-s aspects with many many very large roller balls. Above 12,500 the west faces were completely wind scoured. Creston Needle’s West side and west facing ridges looked to have a large and thick layer of rime Ice above ~13,800: See pictures. On all northern aspects we saw there was evidence of extensive avalanches from the prior storm cycle.