Front Range
SnowpackPeter Ericson · Feb 16, 2013 · Front Range
Weather
Mostly sunny, moderate gusting wind above tree line.
Snowpack
Weak but largely unreactive snowpack. 8-10 inches of new but somewhat dense (4F) storm snow, a very hard (knife) 1/4 inch thick crust layer; ~4 inches of dense mid pack snow (1F); Thin very hard (knife) crust layer, ~24 inches basal facets. Frequent whumphing and collapsing sounds on all slope angles and elevations that we crossed with minor cracking in immediate vicinity of skin track within new snow. Hasty pit dug at 11,100 ft, SW aspect, 20 degree slope. Compression tests failed on the upper crust at 15 and 18 with very low energy, quality 2 shear. Extended column test in same location failed at 22, but did not produce a fracture across full column.