Aspen

Observed one or two small hard slab avalanches on wind-drifted slopes, and a couple of small cornice falls.

Warm temperatures were mostly hidden by the strong winds with occasional extreme gusts. Lots of blowing snow, but not very efficient wind loading into start zones, with the snow blowing to valley floors or back up into the atmosphere. Light snow (S-1 to S1) fell most of the morning, then stopped around noon. Wet Slab avalanches will be a concern later this week with the current snowpack structure, starting around thermal bodies such as rock outcrops and trees on slopes where the current Persistent Slab problem exists.

The snowpack on the east side of Highlands Ridge is notably shallower than I have ever seen it in March, with the average height of snow around 100-150cm on east and northeast-facing slopes below the heavily wind-affected ridgeline. The slab is now around 80cm thick (thicker in wind-drifts) and composed of multiple crusts, but continues to show concerning results in snowpack tests failing on well-developed facets about halfway down the snowpack. All the facet layers are showing clear signs of rounding and bonding, but they are so well-developed that it is likely going to take liquid water reaching this layer and refreezing before it is no longer a concern. The recent wind event did a number on alpine terrain, stripping many slopes to bare ground and hardening many snow surfaces to such a firm surface that boot penetration is less than 1cm. Below 10,000 feet, the snowpack is disappearing quickly and mostly homogenous melt forms throughout, with some fully supportable crusts in the upper snowpack on north-facing slopes.