Vail & Summit County
SnowpackRon Simenhois · Feb 5, 2025 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Above freezing temperature, cloudy skies, and strong SW winds above treeline.
Snowpack
The snowpack is strengthening on south-to-west aspects. It primarily consists of rounding facets with a few melt-freeze crust (MFcr) layers, mainly in the upper portion. These crust layers became less frequent as I moved onto more westerly and less southerly slopes. In isolated areas, a P+ hard wind-packed slab capped the snowpack, while in other areas, the surface was an MFcr. However, in both snowpits I dug, neither surface crust was strong enough to produce an ECTP. On the north aspect, the snow surface featured deep sastrugi, and the snowpack appeared slightly weaker, ranging from 4F to 1F hard facets. However, I did not dig a pit to assess crack initiation and propagation on this aspect.