Sawatch
AvalancheBrandon Levy · May 10, 2021 · Aspen
Weather
Socked-in with limited visibility and really flat light conditions best describes the morning to mid-day timeframe on the west side of Independence Pass. Steady very light snowfall with periods of snowfall at a rate of 1cm per hour occurred in that timeframe. Wind was light and variable with moderate gusts, mainly from the southeast.
Snowpack
The snowpack was much more supportive than observed last week on 5/3 and 5/5. There was a 30 cms knife-hard surface crust and both ski and boot penetration was confined to the new snow. I was unable to shove my pole to the ground and the trap-door conditions mainly around vegetation observed last week were not present today. A good deal of ablation occurred since 5/5 with many more bushes and other anchors showing and poking through the shallow snow cover. Overall the macro scale surface roughness was greater with more undulations and rolls on the slope scale than even one week prior.
Avalanche
Limited visibility for photos and drainage scale obs but no new avalanches observed