Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJohn Snook · Mar 31, 2011 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Overcast skies with occasional breaks in clouds. Temperatures near freezing. Moderate to strong northwest winds near and above treeline, light to moderate below treeline. S-1 precip through most of day, mostly in the form of graupel. Showery precip.
Snowpack
About 20cm of recent storm snow. Storm snow was rather dense for Colorado due to near freezing temps, wind, and some solar getting through clouds. Surface snow was moist enough to make a snowball in non-shady areas. Upside-down upper snowpack with denser storm snow resting on top of lighter storm snow from Monday-Tuesday storm. Obvious graupel layer on surface, which was blowing easily on snow surface in windy areas. Visibility somewhat limited, but no signs of avalanche activity in the area. Large cornices on northeast side of ridge on south side of valley.South to west facing aspects above treeline are scoured.