Sangre de Cristo
SnowpackRich Rogers · Feb 16, 2025 · Sangre de Cristo
Weather
Strong Westerly winds caused streams of blowing snow, ATL, the entire day. Despite the wind, air temps felt warm(mid 20s) in the sun. Clear sky until mid-afternoon when clouds engulfed the mountain range and lenticular clouds formed over the Wet Mtn. Valley.
Snowpack
Below treeline snowpack is shallow. On a shaded North aspect, the deepest pockets of snow measure 70cm. The new and old weak snow were equally soft. Around 11,000, NTL, the height of snow averaged 120cm. Audible collapsing and shooting cracks occurred regularly when new slabs exceeded 20cm, but would cease when over 60cm thick. Thickness varied over short distances. In two test pits on Northeast aspect, ~500ft apart, large column tests easily propagated at the new/weak old snow interface, which sits 30-60cm(drifted slopes), from the surface. This highlights a new persistent slab avalanche problem most likely up and down the range.