Front Range
SnowpackAustin DiVesta · Jan 24, 2022 · Front Range
Weather
Warm and sunny for most of the day. Winds and clouds started to move in from the west as the storm started to move it.
Snowpack
The southern portion of the Front Range zone has vastly different snow heights that range from 40cm below treeline to 140cm near treeline. Below treeline, the snowpack was entirely faceted in shadier areas. At the same time, any slope in the sun made the snow surface moist. As I moved closer to near treeline, the snowpack was still very much faceting with some “recycled powder” mixed with stiff wind-drifted slabs where there wasn’t any protection from the wind. Snowpit observations on a northeast slope near treeline did not produce any propagating test results but did show a slightly different structure than most other snowpits that I have seen this season. About 70cm down from the surface, there was a knife hard layer about 5cm thick, and then below that, there were a lot more crust/facet combinations towards the bottom. My guess is that this knife-hard crust was formed in early December as we had unseasonably warm temperatures.