Front Range

Avalanche

Ryan Lewthwaite · Apr 13, 2020 · Front Range

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Weather

Overcast skies and 7.7F degrees. The winds were swirling but predominately light from the west. Moderate gusts and blowing snow were observed. Consistent snow at rate of S2.

Snowpack

6-8" of new snow accumulated in the past 24 hours. Most near and below treeline slopes were evenly blanketed with storm snow above a frozen crust. The snow was soft and slab formation was isolated to wind exposed features and slopes. The new snow was denser at the base and well bonded to the old crust layer. The melt-freeze crust was around 2cm thick and mostly supportable but breakable. A thin layer of near surface facets had formed below the crust. Repeated compression tests failed above the melt-freeze crust with moderate force. ECTX

Avalanche

Due to poor visibility no new avalanches were observed.