Aspen

Snowpack

Brandon Levy · Dec 1, 2019 · Aspen

Weather

Clear and calm until gaining the ridge where there was light westerly wind. Temperature warmed from teens at the summit to upper twenties around noon. Slight inversion this morning with the valley temperatures in the single digits.

Snowpack

Snow depth ranged from 17" at the Summit to 40" on the Northeast slopes of Bears Gulch. These slopes held old snow from October observed as 2-4mm depth hoar at the base of the snowpack. Long column tests produced propagation at the interface between the depth hoar and the more recent snow from the latter half of November (ECTP14 down 75 cms on 2-4mm DH). No collapsing or cracking was observed. 11" of storm snow may have sat on a layer of buried surface hoar based on reports from other observers. Still plenty of low snow hazards on the egress back to SH133. The road is decent but a bit bony down low.