Observation: Summit

Location: NE Colorado Ridge

Date:

January 13, 2019 1:00pm

Observer:

Clayton / Swalling / LaBelle-Hamer

Route & General Observations

Toured up existing skin track to just below tree-line. Dug a pit and skied back more or less the way we came up.

Red Flags

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Observer Comments

Isolated crack and collapse underfoot in the top 10-15cm of wind-affected snowpack.

Weather & Snow Characteristics

Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.

Weather

Sky: Overcast
Temp.: High 20s F
Precip.: None
Wind: Calm, gusting light from the north

Snow surface

2-3cm of new snow. Below 2,000', moist snow transitioning to dry, low-density snow above 2,000'. Variously wind-affected depending on terrain features.

Snowpack

See pit profile. Near surface facets with several distinct layers of wind-affected snow in the top 40cm of snowpack. Compression Tests were reactive in the various wind layers in the top 40cm of snowpack. Our Extended Column Tests collapsed, but did not propagate on those same layers.

Photos & Video

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Snowpit Profile

Poorly performed shovel tap test collapsed on isolation on two different layers.

Location

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