Vail & Summit County
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Nov 15, 2024 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Few clouds and temperatures near freezing. Southwest winds increased to strong while I was in the field.
Snowpack
Below and at the bottom end of the near treeline elevation band, the west-facing slopes I ascended had a snowpack that was 30-50cm deep and was primarily composed of soft storm snow from early November storms. I dug a quick pit near treeline, and there was some weak snow near the ground, but I got no result in an Extended Column Test (ECT). The layer was about 5cm thick and composed of facets, the snow above was four-finger hard on the Hand Hardness Scale. As I approached and passed the treeline, southwest winds had cross-loaded the slope the snow surface varied between supportable wind features and thin areas of soft snow. I observed no cracking or collapsing on my ascent. Areas with a wind slab were isolated and not continuous across the terrain on these west-facing slopes. On the leeward side of the ridge, northeast and east-facing slopes had dense drifts in the start zones that quickly transitioned to areas of very thin snow cover in the tracks. On a steep southeast-facing slope, the bare ground was mostly visible. Overall, recent strong winds appeared to do more damage to the snowpack in this area than creating dangerous wind slabs. Drifts were pressed into terrain features and not continuous across undulations in the terrain. I dug a couple of quick pits just above a northeast-facing start zone at about 12,500 feet and the snowpack varied significantly over short distances. In some areas, I found a homogenous drift about one-finger hard on the Hand Hardness Scale resting on 5-10cm of facets on the ground. The deepest area I probed was only 90cm deep. No result in an ECT. In another, there was closer to 20cm of weak snow near the ground with two different denser wind-packed layers on top. Between these two layers was a layer of four-finger hard decomposing forms and facets, likely buried around November 12. In an ECT, I got one no result and one non-propagating result below the November 12 layer. Southwest winds increased significantly while I was in the field, but most of the snow was sublimating into the atmosphere. West-facing slopes looked more "normal" than they did just after the two upsloping (easterly wind) storms, but it seemed like the winds already transported most of the available snow. I saw no evidence of recent avalanches and no cracking or collapsing as I skinned across the top of the path, although I wasn't close to the edge. If you tried, I think you could still find a pocket of drifted snow at ridgecrest and make a small avalanche on a very steep north, northeast, or east-facing slope. That said, after the strong winds, the best snow quality for riding that I found was in sheltered areas.