Aspen
AvalancheMatt Huber · Jan 7, 2019 · Aspen
Weather
Strong southwest winds and blowing snow. The winds were strong enough to have stripped west facing slopes to bare dirt and transporting small pebbles 1/2" in size. There was very little visibility so not clear how much snow was being loaded into northeast facing starting zones.
Snowpack
In open terrain, any new snow from this storm had been blown away and winds were eroding into the previous surfaces. Drifts behind tree islands and on test slopes were several feet deep but were not especially reactive when ski tested. Total snowpack depth varied from 150 centimeters to bare ground.
Avalanche
Small debris pile observed in upper bench of Baldy 1, which is a northwest facing path but crossloads on the high left shoulder with a southwest wind. 12,500.Poor visibility only gave us a quick view of debris