Front Range
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Apr 5, 2019 · Front Range
Weather
Warm day with light winds, a little stronger at ridgetop. No snow transport was observed. Clouds generally decreased through the early afternoon with a few clouds and plenty of sunshine by the end of the tour.
Snowpack
I traveled on west through north to east slopes around Mt Sniktau and found no signs of instability. Still, wind-drifted slabs near ridgetop that formed over the last few days were approached with caution. The slabs were unreactive to ski cuts and no cracking in the surface snow or deeper was observed. Although temperatures were warm, the snow surface stayed cool with a constant breeze. No evidence of any surface wet activity and the snowpack at all elevations and all on slopes was supportable with ski pen less than about 4 inches. Note that the lowest elevation I traveled was 11,600 ft.---I observed Loveland patrol conducting mitigation work on their ridgeline. Most results resulted in small loose snow avalanches. One shot pulled out a ~100 ft wide wind slab just below ridegetop on a northeasterly slope. It looked like it broke at least a couple feet deep.