Front Range
AvalancheBrian Sweeney · Dec 21, 2016 · Front Range
Weather
Temp in parking lot near 30. Win was negligible in the woods. Wind was obviously strong along the ridge. Aspect as east. Snowpit elevation approx. 10,900'.
Snowpack
Near treeline the topmost layer of snow was crusty (thin windslab). We dug a hasty snowpit a bit over 3' deep. Several week layers were found toward the bottom. The top week layer failed after considerable force was exerted with a shovel in am informal column test. Sheer quality was poor. Upon isolation a large block in an informal rutschblock test failed toward the bottom of our 3' pit with very high quality and low energy. Isolation technique was crude: I just forced the tail of a ski downward thru the snowpack with considerable force. It broke free when I penetrated the week layer about 1.5' down.
Avalanche
Large avalanche appears to have come down from North Diamond Peak, presumably over the weekend or on Monday.