Front Range
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Feb 7, 2019 · Front Range
Weather
Didn't get into the wind zone as it was cold enough with the breezes near treeline.
Snowpack
Winds were drifting snow near treeline and I observed minor cracking. Recent snow from the last few days is about 6 inches with some deeper and stiffer slabs in areas. I did not observe any well connected slabs in the area I was in, just some pockety drifts.---I dug on two easterly slopes and found a varying snow depth from 120 to 170 cm. The shallower snowpack had a crust 60 cm down with facets underneath. Results of ECTP10 on this layer. In the deeper snowpack, that was likely wind-drifted, results of ECTP21 at 80 cm down on faceted snow but no crust.---Pole prodding on southeast aspect led me to believe the crust is much harder and we are less likely to have issued than on east slopes with thin and fragile crusts. I'm not sure if this is true everywhere and I would expect colder and higher elevation southeast slopes to have thinner crusts similar to what I am finding on east near-treeline.