None observed
Observation: Summit
Location: Colorado
Ascended East aspect to 3700′
Observer Comments
Weather
Clear skies, temps in the teens F, 5-10 mph North winds near ridge top
Snow surface
Surface hoar 3-5mm found to 3000'
Road level to 1500' 1cm of near surface facets on crust on the ground
Loose snow gradually increasing as we ascended to 20cm just below 2700'. Snow felt more wind affected above 2500'.
Above 3000' wind packed snow was faceting on the surface.
Snowpack
Can easily feel crust under 20cm of snow, at 2400 a crust sandwich was first noted with the thinner upper crust disappeared around 2700'. Between these crusts were 4F hard snow with a stout supportable crust that was ~30cm deep.
Dug several pits at 3650'-
ESE aspect just below the ridge. I dug in a shallow spot 55cm deep and found a 10cm layer of 2mm facets on the ground under a 4cm crust. Tests failed below the crust, ECTP21, CT13. The slab consisted of 40cm of pencil hard rounds/windpacked snow with a rime crust on top. The slab felt like concrete and needed a saw to isolate columns. My partner dug 25' away in a deeper spot, ~80cm and had propagation with strong force breaking unevenly above and below this same 4cm rain/MF crust on smaller faceting rounds (~0.5mm). In this pit the crust layer was mid-pack with dry rounded grains starting to facet below the crust - possibly older snow from late Oct or early Nov, but hard to say due to SNOTEL's down mid Oct through mid Nov. We suspect the crust layer was from Nov.7-9 when temps were well above freezing at 3800'.
Settlement cones, sparkling surface hoar at around 1800'.
Two crusts found between 2400' and 2700'.
An old filled in crown on Spirit Walker West aspect could be seen with nice light on it.
Old debris in several chutes on W aspect of Butch
Wind packed snow was was starting to facet
A very large cornice could be seen from the road between Moose Mt and Twin Peaks
Picture of the shallow pit at 3650'