Front Range

Light snow transitioned to broken skies by midday. Heavier snow started again in the late afternoon. The wind was moderate and westerly, with temperatures below freezing.

I didn't see any recent avalanche activity off the steeper ridges near and above treeline, although the visibility wasn't great. Near treeline is the most concerning elevation band. Below treeline lacked a slab on shaded slopes, and there were thick, supportable crusts on sunny slopes. At the lowest elevations, around 9,000 feet, the snowpack was still moist, and the new snow glopped to my skins. Where I dug a snowpit on a northeast aspect near treeline, there was a 5cm thick layer of facets buried 30 to 40cm below the surface underneath an ice crust. This is my main layer of concern moving forward. While I got propagating results in Extended Column Tests (ECTs) in the basal facet layer, they were only after multiple blows from the shoulder. The crust/facet layer in the middle of the snowpack had propagating results after one or two taps from the elbow. Skiing close to the top of steep northeast-facing chutes, I didn't see any cracking or collapsing. I don't think the snow above the crust/facet layer is forming a dense enough slab to pose an issue at the moment. My Propagation Saw Test seemed to confirm this with arresting failures instead of failing to the end. That said, with some more intense winds, or depending on how much it snows overnight, it could become a problem soon. The southeast aspects I planned to investigate were too scoured for a good snowpit, but I generally observed areas with supportable crusts with weak snow between them and on the ground, or areas with very dense drifted slabs left over from December. These slabs were resting on weak snow near the ground, but it didn't seem very continuous. I didn't probe any areas over 60cm deep on that southeast-facing near treeline slope.