Steamboat & Flat Tops
SnowpackAustin DiVesta · Jan 15, 2023 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
The day was overcast, with intermittent snow showers for most of the day. Temperatures stayed relatively warm for most of the day. Winds were mostly calm, with light gusts out of the west
Snowpack
I traveled on mostly east and southeast-facing slopes below treeline around Baker Mountain to evaluate surface conditions and gain more data around Rabbit Ears Pass. Yesterday was warm and sunny, creating a 1-3cm sun crust on most slopes; this will also be something to watch and pay attention to when more snow arrives. However, this crust was more predominant on steeper southeast slopes. Overall snow heights ranged from about 115 to 150cm in this area. I dug two pits throughout the day and did not notice the November rain crust, which we have seen from the top of Rabbit Ears Pass through North Routt County. Most of the snowpack comprises mostly 4F to 1F hardness slabs throughout the snowpack. Within the top 30cm of the snowpack, it was made up for recent snow from the last week. Probing around a north-facing slope, I noticed a stiffer mid-pack layer but mostly soft, weak layers for much of the 130-150cm snowpack. A note about this north-facing slope is that it is heavily treed but still has some slab properties. Extended Column Tests did not produce any propagating results in either pits. I did note a tiny layer of facets on the southeast-facing pit around 58cm up from the ground around a crust that was likely formed around Christmas Eve. This is my layer of concern if we get a significant load on this current snowpack