Aspen

Avalanche

blase reardon · Mar 9, 2014 · Aspen

View on map

Weather

Hard freeze in AM but rapidly warmed in sun. Sunny slopes moistened rapidly. Corn on steep W faces early afternoon. Cold, dry powder on slopes tipped out of sun down to road level.

Snowpack

10-15 cm settled PP on MF crust on sunny slopes, on 5 cm DF on shady slopes. Regular planar shears at both interfaces with hand pits, and lower interface felt a little hollow at times while skinning, but no cracking or collapses. Lower interface is graupel, SH buried on Tuesday 3-4-14. Slopes to 40* getting skied w no incidents. Top of some slopes wind-affected but didn't find any distinct Wind Slabs. Pole probing showed about 120 cm snow in early Feb storms.

Avalanche

1 small natural slab on very steep E facing slope - yesterday? 1 very small skier triggered slab just above road on N facing slope from previous party. Both thin - 10-15 cm. Numerous natural loose slides on some but not all steep aprons below rocks; a few longer-running loose sluffs. 1 glide crack starting on steep, unsupported E-facing slope in Raspberry Creek. It will be a monster if it goes. No other natural slabs visible in visible terrain in Anthracite or Yule Creek.