Sangre de Cristo

Snowpack

Snowline in the Crestone area seemed to start around 9,000-9,200ft range. Only a few inches at most with moderate drifting. At the Rainbow Trail Junction, ground cover entailed about 5-8 inches of mostly powder. At the upper (old) 4x4 trailhead and beyond to treeline, snow depth was between 12-24 inches with ample drifting. The snowpack itself seemed quite stable. There was a hard layer about 6 inches under powder. Under this hard layer, the snowpack was 'firm'. We never worried about slides and only once heard a 'whoomf'. Things are fairly windblown (as usual) above treeline. South aspects are wind swept and clear. Eastern aspects are holding snow. However, with the high moisture content in the air, we witnessed HEAVY, HEAVY riming and feather ice above 13,000ft. Above 13,700ft, it was some of the denest, thickest rime I've ever seen in 20 yrs of mountaineering. We decided to forgo Crestone Needle in lieu of the conditions. As we were packing to leave yesterday afternoon, it started to grapple, copiously. I can imagine how unstable this is going to make the snowpack. It wasn't all that cold, quite manageable actually.