Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Mar 12, 2024 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Increasing clouds in the afternoon. Moderate winds at ridgetop. I did not observe any wind loading near treeline. Mild temps.
Snowpack
The snowpack in this area is generally 2 meters deep or more. The primary layer of concern is a layer of faceted crystals and surface hoar that was buried on February 2. This layer is buried 80 to 90 cm from the surface. I did not get propagating results on this layer in Extended Column Test (ECT). Even when removing half of the slab and performing a non-standardized ECT, I did not get propagating results. The dust in the snowpack is diffuse and not a distinct layer. I did not identify any significant faceting around dust in the snowpack. The most concerning structure moving forward, with new snow on the way, are slopes where thin crusts developed over the last few days. Faceting has occurred under these crusts, thought there is still not much of a slab. East-facing slopes and east-southeast-facing slopes are most suspect. Once I got around the compass to southeast-facing slopes, surface crusts are much harder and thicker and there was less faceting. I did get propagating results on an east-southeast facing near treeline slope on a more-deeply buried crusts but I also cut out thick crust to isolate the column so I am not putting much weight into this result.
Avalanche
No recent avalanches observed