Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

Jason Konigsberg · Mar 13, 2018 · Vail & Summit County

Weather

This morning the skies were broken to partly cloudy. The intermittent sunshine and relatively cool temps helped keep the snow surface cool. Clear skies after noon with only light breezes at ridgetop.

Snowpack

Northerly aspects near treeline have a deep snowpack. Not sure how it happened but numerous shady and protected slopes were measuring from 170 to 240 cms of snow. The depth hoar underneath the 4 to 6 foot slab has sintered and is showing signs of strength. The weakest layer is faceted snow at the top of the depth hoar layer 40 to 50 cms from the ground.---On northerly slopes there are a few thin faceted layers in the top 60 cms of the snowpack but none show propagation potential or look worrisome. ---Sunny aspects below treeline are thin. Few sunny slopes below treeline have enough snow to produce avalanches. East aspects do, but they aren't heating like souths. Near treeline, south-facing slopes have about a meter of snow with the top 4 inches becoming wet. The wet snow sits on top of a hard, wind-packed layer. Small loose wet avalanches would be possible to trigger in steep (>40 degree) terrain.