Front Range

Avalanche

Colin Wann · Jan 19, 2017 · Front Range

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Weather

Clear skies turning to partly cloudy. Gusty winds, moving snow at all elevations, especially ATL with noticeable ridgetop pluming observed during the drive in.

Snowpack

The snow underfoot varied dramatically, depending on aspect, exposure to wind and elevation. There were pockets of pencil hard windslab NTL/ATL. There was significant warming to the the upper layers on solar aspects.

Avalanche

Presumably from this morning, the slide debris had not been drifted over by the snow moving around. The small crowns were still clearly visible, despite active loading. The newly deposited snow broke on NE through E aspects, having been loaded from steady westerly winds yesterday and over night. The slide did not break down into persistent layers.