Vail & Summit County
AvalancheAidan Goldie · Feb 22, 2020 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Clouds: Few Precip: NO Blowing Snow: None Wind Spd: L Surf Grain: DF (< .5mm) HS: 210cm Tair: 39 deg C Elevation: 11k - 12k, Southern to Western aspects.
Snowpack
Did a little probing today and found a snowpack about 2 meters deep with varying depth depending on aspect, wind effect, and elevation. Generally depth of snowpack fluctuated between 160cm to 220 cm. Prominent faceted layer at the base.
Avalanche
We observed three types of avalanches indicative of the complexity of the snowpack. On our skin up to the summit of outpost, we observed a SS avalanche across the valley on a Western aspect. On a shallower snowpack, this SS appears to have broken on old and rotten snow. On outpost peak, we observed a relatively deep snowpack at around 2 meters. Hazards still exist as there are definitive windward and leeward slopes where the ladder holds significant wind loaded layers. We observed evidence of a stiff wind slab that was releasing 4-6in slabs. On our exit, we found plenty of evidence of the rapid warming that our snowpack experienced earlier in the week as we dipped under 11k. Sun crusts and point release wet loose slides scoured the landscape on sun exposed aspects. It appears as if most of these wet-loose events happened on thursday or friday.