Front Range
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams Austin DiVesta · Feb 26, 2024 · Sawatch
Weather
Broken skies and moderate winds from the southwest. Temperatures rose to above freezing at valley bottom.
Snowpack
We observed a variable snowpack that was heavily influenced by the wind. There were many shallow areas throughout the terrain that were a meter or less deep. In drifted areas, the snowpack was up to two meters deep. The most consistent snowpack is in the near treeline elevation band. The snowpack transitioned from shallow to deep areas over short distances. The lowest elevation southerly slopes had patches of bare ground on steep slopes. Wind-affected upper elevation areas had dense snow near the surface and we only got propagating results in Extended Column Tests (ECTs) after multiple blows from the shoulder. On a sheltered northerly slope, the snowpack was thinner and less dense and we got a propagating result in an ECT after six taps from the elbow. Interestingly, this failure was likely below the early February weak layer; it failed at the basal facet interface. The discrepancy in pit results is indicative of the variable nature of the snowpack. We noted that the early February weak layers are the primary concern here and avalanches could break near the ground as well. Due to the variable snowpack, there are many shallow trigger points throughout the terrain, especially near treeline. We did not observe any cracking or collapsing, but we did see evidence of recent avalanches that likely ran in the past two weeks or less. Most of the recent avalanche activity was on east and southeast slopes below ridgelines and likely ran on buried crust-facet combinations from earlier in the month.