Sangre de Cristo
SnowpackEric Sangueza · Mar 10, 2012 · Sangre de Cristo
Weather
WARM, Temperature in the valley at 9,500ft was 35 degrees F.
Snowpack
Dug 4 snow pits through out the day all on N-NW slopes below treeline at 9,500ft- 10,000ft. I did the ECT 5 times and got ECTX for all of them. I got a PST SF on a pit dug near the valley floor. Valley floor Pit; 20 degrees in steepness, NW aspect: ECTX and the depth of the snow was 100cm. Depth Hoar near the ground is gaining strength. Pit at 10,000ft, 40 degrees in steepness, NW aspect, Clearing of trees. ECTX and the snow depth was 150cm The structure of the snow here was much like the one in the valley floor just by probing. The top part of it however, had rounds and stiffer slabs (Didn't want to dig all the way to ground just to see the facets). Probing around the N-NW slopes between elevations 9,500ft and 10,000ft, the average snow pack depth was 130cm. Things really heated up and I'm sure there would have been wet slide problems on S slopes with enough snow. Many S slopes below treeline observed off of Humboldt Peak are very bare. Spring is setting in fast in the Sangres.