Aspen
AvalancheMatt Lanning · Feb 21, 2018 · Aspen
Weather
Clear and cold. Temps around 0-5 degrees F. North-facing bowl, elevation 11,900. Consistent wind around 15 mph, gusts around 25.
Snowpack
Alternately super-stiff wind-slab or hollow-to-the-ground powder. Barnard hut is at 11,500, the meadow below is 11,400', and we ascended to 11,900' to this ridge.
Avalanche
In walking across the top of the ridge, it didn't appear that we'd be able to remotely trigger the persistent weak layer at the ground due to the stiffness of the windslab. A little bit of walking around and I encountered one soft spot. A little hop and the whole ridge settled, about 1000' feet wide. Cracks went everywhere, but only about 1/3 of the slope was both steep enough to slide (only around 35 degrees at the crown), and without the little trees that seemed to hold that looker's right face in place. The crown was between 1' and 5' deep, the avalanche slid to the ground on the facets from the fall. I'd classify this as HS-ASr-R3-D3-O.