Aspen
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek · Dec 30, 2024 · Aspen
Weather
On and off light snow and some sunshine poking through with a period of about 30 minutes of heavy graupel.
Snowpack
The new slab is around one to two feet thick and 4F to 1F- hard (on the hand hardness scale) at the bottom of the slab. There is a thin (<.5cm thick) crust from yesterday's warm-up that is now buried about one to four inches deep depending on the aspect, but the crust is present on all slopes I traveled on today including north-facing slopes.
Avalanche
Several avalanches in Bears Gulch occurred in the last 48 hours. They were likely remotely triggered but could have been naturals, all within the same avalanche paths that slid on November 27 (see this observation: https://avalanche.state.co.us/report/22dab7a5-4f6b-4c57-8b6c-79469fa9f8b7) highlighting how slopes that previously slid may be some of the more dangerous slopes now that we have a new slab. Triggered several avalanches on the north-facing slopes west of Hayes Peak above Hayes Creek, some from hundreds of feet away below the slope and some only from a few feet away along the ridgeline.