Front Range
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Dec 2, 2025 · Front Range
Weather
Light to moderate northwest winds and light snowfall with no accumulation. Skies were obscured and temps were in the teens.
Snowpack
The snowpack is simple where it exists. There are areas, think upper-elevation, shaded sheltered leeward slopes, where snow lingered through the Fall and forms a layer of basal facets. Snow from just before and after Thanksgiving rests on top. Where I dug my snowpit at the top of one of the Nitro Chutes in a deeper drift, I got a propagating result in an Extended Column Test after two taps from the wrist at the basal facet interface. What was interesting was a second layer of facets about 10cm thick above the basal facets, likely snow from just before Thanksgiving. On some of the slopes mentioned above that weren't holding snow before Thanksgiving, it's likely that this layer is what's forming the basal facet layer. Digging a number of quick pits with my pole, there was only about 10 to 30cm of snow with about 5cm of facets at the bottom. Where I dug my snow pit, the average depth was closer to 30 to 50cm. The takeaway for me was that there is now a more widespread weak layer, waiting for a continuous slab to form on top. Even though I got a propagating result in my snowpit, there wasn't enough continuous snow or slab to be an issue. Someone had skied the slope without incident - although it seemed like they hit a lot of rocks.