Aspen

Avalanche

Colin Mitchell · Feb 15, 2017 · Aspen

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Weather

Clear and warm, light winds.

Snowpack

Snowpack depth and coverage varied across the bowl. The shady northerly and easterly aspects were heavily wind drifted and holding quite a bit of snow, areas more exposed to the sun, and the main upper face had less snow, with plenty of rocks and vegetation still visible. Some of this is likely attributable to large slides running through here earlier in the season. The south face of the bowl had around 30" of snow, upper layers were composed of several M/F crusts, with meltforms and facets in between. HS in the nearby patrol study plot was 148 cm. Snow safety staff reported finding well-preserved surface hoar in their profile this week, down ~18".

Avalanche

The avalanche appears to have run on the 1/19 surface hoar layer. It was triggered from the gully below the tracks on the looker's left side of the avalanche.