Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler · Apr 23, 2025 · Front Range
Weather
Winds were light with occasional gusts. Around 10am clouds started building.
Snowpack
Below treeline, the snowpack felt fairly solid. Even at noon, I was able to step out of my skis and walk around supported. Near treeline on an easterly aspect in a drifted area, I dug and found a thin wind-slab crust over a collapsible melt-freeze crust with rounding facets in between. This structure was very isolated, and the problematic crust seemed to be breaking down. In most areas, the upper supportable crust was not present, and the only place I could consistently find it was within about 15 feet of the ridgeline. At this elevation, it was stubborn. Northerly aspects between 12,000 and 11,000 feet still held soft powdery snow at the surface and a gradually hardening right side up snowpack. At 12,000 feet on a southerly aspect, the snow was heavy, wet, hot pow at noon. It was sat on the pre-storm crust but even in 40 degree terrain I couldn't get any snow to move.