Vail & Summit County
AvalancheAnonymous · Jan 13, 2019 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Clear and cool.
Snowpack
We found about 8 inches of new snow in the last storm cycle without significant wind loading of the new snow. We did not dig any pits but generally found an unsupportive faceted snowpack.
Avalanche
Skier number 2 on our last lap of the day triggered but was not caught in a small relative to slide path avalanche when he cut out of the protected chute across a north east facing roll over. The slide was triggered after the skier had reached the bottom of the slope and he was safely out of the way. Upon further examination of the crown we found 2 or more feet of rounding facets with a hard wind slab in between the facets and the new snow on top of it. The avalanche ran about 100 feet in length, was 50-75 feet wide and had a 1-3 foot crown. Certainly large enough to bury someone.