Colorado

Started from the highway at noon. 11° and blue sky, calm. Balmy once we got in the sun! Follow the wrong skin track up. At low elevation the snowpack has a crust with large facets on top. Around elevation 1960ft (on the edge of the meadows) we felt the first of MANY wumphs with lots of cracking. Probed an elevation of 80cm deep, with a crust on top and significant crust 35cm down from the top. Guessing there is a hollow underneath that 35cm layer. Around elevation 2280ft (tree line at the top of the meadows) we experienced another round of wumphing and cracking. One member of the group noted a wumph so significant it made nearby trees shake. Probed 110cm deep, with a slight crust 50cm down and a very stiff crust 80cm down. The snow in the top half of the meadow is a delight! At the bottom of our first lap we experienced a few more wumphs and cracking. Went up for a second lap but unfortunately as the sun went down the crust firmed up and made it a lot less fun to get out. Back at the highway at 4:00. We saw evidence of older natural avalanches around the Summit area, both slab and wet loose, as well as older rollerballs and runnels.

Quick report