Aspen
AvalancheMatt Huber · Feb 9, 2019 · Aspen
Weather
The skies remained overcast for the trip with temperatures ranging from 15 to 20 F. Wind gusts at ridgeline would occasionally blow snow, but it was not consistent.
Snowpack
The amount of cracking and collapsing that I observed in this area two days ago had significantly decreased today. The overall snowpack depth ranged from 1 to 1.5 meters on the south facing side of the ridge, closer to 2 meters on the north side. I dug on the south side, expecting to see a reactive layer at the recent storm snow/old surface interface. The layer is very easily seen in the pit wall at about 40 centimeters from the surface as a one inch crust with a few centimeters of graupel on top of the crust. Hard, non-propagating results on several extended column tests were all that could be persuaded out of this layer. Below the recent snow/old interface there are multiple facet/crust combo layers in varying stages of decomposition that were not reactive in tests
Avalanche
Two natural avalanches on the northwest aspect of Mt Daly were seen near 11,400 feet. The crowns had been softened by wind and were difficult to observe. Unable to determine weak layers