Observations

Front Range – O’Malley Gully to False Peak

Red flags (obvious signs of instability):

• Modest blowing snow and wind loading

Weather:

• Cloudy, and at times partially obscured, skies with intermittent light snowfall from passing showers
• Temps in the mid 30s to mid 20s decreasing with elevation
• Light to moderate NE wind

Surface conditions:

• Rain-snow line at ~2400′ with fresh, wind-blown snow on generally supportable wind slab above (leeward terrain)
• Mostly scoured to old, very hard wind slab, rocks, tundra etc. with a dusting of sticky fresh on windward aspects
• Wet-moist surface snow below 2400′ with snowpack gradually becoming more deeply saturated

Snowpack:

Wind-affected snow in O’Malley Gully (barely visible large cornice above the gully along ridge):

First snowpit on the West Face of False Peak, 4010′, 229* SW aspect, 36* slope, 98+cm HS, ECTP 13 SC & CTM 16 RP @ 60cm (38cm from surface) 4F facets below thin decomposing crust:
Second snowpit on the West Face of False Peak just below the summit, 4165′, 269* W aspect, 33* slope, 146cm HS, ECTX, 17cm fresh snow: