Details

• Date: 2019/11/27

• Observer: Matt Huber
• Organization: Forecaster, Colorado Avalanche Information Center

Location

• BC Zone: Aspen
• Area Description: East side of Richmond ridge, near McFarlands. Poor visibility from ridge due to cloud cover and strong ridgetop winds

Weather

• Ridgeline Wind Speed: 10-20 mph
• Ridgeline Wind Direction: SW
• Wind Loading: Moderate
• Temperature: 21 F
• Sky Cover: Overcast
• Depth of New Snow: 4 in
• Depth of Total Snow: 21 in
• Weather Description: Windy. Temperatures remained near 20F for the duration of the trip. Moderate to intense snow transport observed on all ridges above treeline and most unprotected near and below treeline ridges as well. Cloud cover obscured most visibility except for isolated moments

Snowpack

• Snowpack Description: Snow depth ranges between 60-80 cm at 10,600 feet with the bottom 20 to 30 cm comprised of cohesionless 3 mm depth hoar crystals. Sudden fracture and collapse was observed roughly every 20-30 meters of travel. Extended column tests produced propagating results, ranging from isolation to 5 taps, on an intact surface hoar layer above a thin crust about 30 centimeters from the surface.

Avalanches

• Avalanche Description: McFarlands bowl avalanched D2 sometime after the 11/22 storm, unsure of trigger. The remnants of several natural D2 avalanches were apparent along the east-facing side of Highlands ridge past Five-Fingers, likely from 11/26

	Date	Location/Path	#	Elev	Asp	Type	Trig	SizeR	SizeD
	2019/11/22  †	Richmond Hill	1	TL	NE	SS	U	R3	D2
Date: 2019/11/22 (Estimated) Observer: Matt Huber Organization: Forecaster, Colorado Avalanche Information Center Area Description: McFarlands Bowl Landmark: Richmond Hill
	2019/11/26  †	Castle Creek	2	>TL	NE	SS	N	R2	D2
Date: 2019/11/26 (Estimated) Observer: Matt Huber Organization: Forecaster, Colorado Avalanche Information Center Area Description: Along Highlands Ridge above Five-fingers Landmark: Castle Creek