Front Range

Moderate Southwest winds and sunny.

Below treeline the snowpack was thin and faceted with about 15cm of new snow at the surface. Near treeline the snowpack deepened from 70 to 100cm. The snowpack was very variable in this area due to the wind. On a southeast aspect there was an ice lense and strong crust about 30cm deep. This crusts was supportive to boots and was hard to shovel through it. This layer seems to be a combination of the pre Christmas winds and the Christmas warm weather. This crust shows no sign of faceting and it would take a large load to punch through it. This crust was not found on a north aspect where the snow was over 1 meter deep and generally correct side up. Extended Column Tests in this area did not produce any propagating results.