Front Range
AvalancheAustin DiVesta · Nov 10, 2023 · Front Range
Weather
Warm, clear, and calm bluebird day.
Snowpack
Below treeline barely holds enough snow to skin on consistently. Near and above treelines contain more of a mixed bag of conditions depending on the aspect. Northerly-facing slopes hold up to 20cm of snow, while southerly-facing slopes only have 5cm at most. I targeted wind-drifted areas above treeline to dig a snowpit. I found a deeper spot to dig with 56cm of snow. There was about 10cm of new snow on the top of a pencil-hard slab that was 30cm thick (The end of October snow). This slab sat on top of the early October snow, which had faceted. An Extended Column Test produced hard propagation results (ECTP21@14cm). Snow coverage varies greatly right now. Wind-loaded slopes hold 50-60cm of snow, while a few feet away, there is only 10cm, and you hit rocks easily. For the short term, there is plenty of recent snow to move around with wind, which will redistribute the snow for the next few days. Pay attention to areas with stiff or hollow-feeling snow, where you will likely trigger an avalanche. In the long term, if we don’t get more snow soon, most of this snow will facet and create a bigger problem with a persistent weak layer near the ground.
Avalanche
Very small avalanches in isolated terrain features near ridgelines and in extreme terrain.