Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Jan 14, 2020 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Winds were strong at the main ridge. There was lots of snow moving but snow loading was not particularly intense. It was really swirly and it seemed like the snow surface was just getting hardened with some loading directly below ridgetop. Previous loading was evident though and drifts were up to 2 feet thick.
Snowpack
The winds have changed the upper snowpack structure. A harder (about one-finger hardness) slab 1 to 2 feet thick sits over softer faceted layers and crust/facet combos. In sheltered areas the snowpack hasn't changed much since a week ago. In the areas that received wind-drifted snow I would expect you can trigger an avalanche, especially right below ridgetop. We skied some lower angle slopes off of the ridge and the slab was supportable to skis but when poking a pole into the snowpack it felt extremely hollow.
Avalanche
A few smallish wind slabs observed looking north towards the Gore Range. A crown was also visible in the cliff band on the low shoulder of north-facing Peak 1 but it was hard to tell if this crown was hold and if it broke on new or old snow.