Vail & Summit County
AvalancheKreston Rohrig · Dec 19, 2018 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Blustery day with periods of intense (1"/hr snowfall). Westerly winds at rigdeline were rapidly transporting the 6-8" of low density snow to leeward slopes.
Snowpack
We were traveling on the border of below treeline and near treeline in open terrain on a north facing slope. The new snow was swirling around this feature but starting to form a small 2-3" surface slab. Below with thin wind-skin, the new snow fell on a weaker layer of facets (old snow surface) around 10" thick. The snowpack in this area lost a lot of strength last week under high pressure drove faceting in the upper snowpack. The danger was climbing in this area as slabs continued to build throughout the day, forming over weak snow below.
Avalanche
None observed. Visibility was poor throughout the day