Sawatch
AvalancheColin Mitchell · Jan 16, 2017 · Aspen
Weather
Overcast skies and warming temps. Mostly high clouds at the time of the ob, but the peaks had been socked in with low clouds all morning.
Snowpack
Around 20" of compacted snow on the ground. Plenty of vegetation, downed timber, rocks, etc still visible in the tracks, but startzones looked pretty filled in. The most concerning areas, where small paths come right to the roads edge (Parts of both the Difficult and Smuggler group) aren't holding much snow, and pose no threat to the highway. They are filled in though, and loose snow slides will be a concern with further storms. The larger paths would need a storm cycle to rival last week's to reach the road
Avalanche
No avalanches observed, though the high peaks were obscured by some lingering low clouds