Front Range
SnowpackIan Fowler · Nov 27, 2024 · Front Range
Weather
When I arrived it was snowing S-3 but this stopped after about and hour and then the skies cleared. Winds were picking up out of the west when I left.
Snowpack
Below treeline there is very little slab development and the storm snow is either resting on the ground on south and southeast or on a crust that is about 10cm above the ground on east to north. On a test slope at the bottom of the near-treeline level I was able to stomp some cornice but this only released storm snow at the surface. Near the top of the treeline band there were large variations in structure based on aspect. On a northeast aspect I found the most cohesive snow with a failure on isolation of a thin wind slab at the surface. Easterlies were fist hard storm snow on fist hard facets. Despite this seemingly unconsolidated structure I did get very easy propagating failures at this interface. This shows how weak the snow at the ground is and that the snow doesn't need to be hard to be a slab. These two profiles also highlight how much more reactive the snow may get once it slabs up more. As I moved around to the southeast there were already a mixture of facet crust combos in the snowpack. Some were weakening but others seemed pretty stout. On wind loaded slopes I saw shooting cracks up to 10 feet long and isolated collapses.