Aspen
SnowpackColin Mitchell · Dec 5, 2015 · Aspen
Weather
Snow was coming to an end and skies slowly clearing by 9:30 AM when I left the vehicle. Temperatures dropped throughout the day, with periods of cloudy skies and some gusty SW winds.
Snowpack
About 4" of new snow fell in the bowl, compared with two at the pass. Some strengthening had occurred in mid-pack facet layers since my last visit, but not significant in terms of avalanche hazard. Snowpack still all facets below new snow. and too unconsolidated to propagate a fracture. I was unable to complete snowpack tests, my shovel was on the ground with 15 to 20 taps. A little cracking around the skis on the skin track was the only sign of instability.