Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Jan 4, 2024 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Increasing clouds. Brief periods of moderate snowfall after 2 PM. Light winds even at ridgetop (12K ft)
Snowpack
On north through east-facing slopes near treeline, the snowpack is 100 to 110 cm. There is a four-finger hard, 30 cm thick layer of basal facets near the ground. Above this is a 50 cm slab that is progressively harder from the top down. Above the slab is very weak snow to the surface. No stability tests were performed. On southwest-facing slopes near treeline I found a 2 cm thick melt-freeze crust at the surface. Although there is weak, faceted snow beneath, it would take a large load to get anything to break beneath this thick crust. On west and northwest-facing slopes, there was no surface crust.