Aspen
Quick reportDylan Craaybeek · Apr 14, 2026 · Gunnison
Weather
Cold, snowy morning, clearing around 11:00 for an hour or so, then another wave came in with light to moderate snowfall for the rest of the afternoon. Winds are shifting around all directions throughout the day, but there was a steady west wind at the ridgeline, moving a very small amount of snow. By the time we left around 15:00 it was snowing pretty hard (S5) then cleared as we were driving back down the quarry road and it was sunny back in Marble.
Snowpack
Below treeline there was only 1 or 2 inches of new snow, falling on bare ground on many slopes or somewhat discontinuous snow on north-facing slopes. Above about 11,000 feet, there was around 4 inches of new snow with wind-drifted spots around 6 inches deep. The old snow surface crusts were still mostly soft and moist, not entirely refrozen, which made for pleasant ski conditions. Slopes facing west southeast through south to west, even above treeline, are really showing the historically dry and hot winter and are mostly bare ground. The only slopes with continuous snow coverage are northwest through north to some east above 10,500 feet.
Avalanche
Some minor loose dry avalanches on sustained steep slopes over 40 degrees, but they never ran more than a couple of hundred feet. No evidence of any wind slabs where we traveled. Observed a larger wet avalanches from around April 8, 2026.