Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

Jason Konigsberg · Mar 31, 2021 · Vail & Summit County

Weather

Very windy at ridgetop with light to moderate snow transport above treeline. Again, no snow transport observed near or below treeline. Chilly with single-digit temps above treeline until late afternoon.

Snowpack

I traveled on west and northwest at all elevations and east above and near treeline. I only dug on the westerlies as the overall snowpack on east felt deeper and stronger with probing. The main concern on east, and this was actually the main problem I encountered today, was small but thick wind slabs directly below ridgetop. These slab only extended a short way down the slope, but I had to avoid steep near-ridgetop terrain as I regained the ridge from the east. The snow stayed cool and dry near and above treeline. In steep, rocky areas below treeline the snow was getting wet. New snow from the last 48 hours ranged from 4 to 8 inches. See images and snowpits for information on the westerlies that I dug on. In a nutshell, northwest near-treeline slopes have a dry snowpack top to bottom (no moist layers) and is where the most concerning structure is for Persistent Slab avalanches and maybe Wet Slab avalanches by the end of the weekend.