Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJustin Park · Apr 20, 2020 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Intermittent clouds and storms but some longer periods of intense sun and temps in 40s. SE aspects of our ascent were getting cooked when sun was sustained.
Snowpack
Snow conditions abruptly shifted to wintry at about 11,800 ie. no evidence of sun effects, more powdery albeit windblown snow. We did not dig any pits as we were skiing conservative pitches only and had few concerns about the reported dangers from CAIC on the East face.
Avalanche
Avalanche observed from above. Snow did not appear to have slid in the steeper higher elevation sections of the south-facing chutes. Although observed from far off, slide debris looked to me like result of a wet slide starting on the apron at lower elevation. Wet slides in the same area were observed during high pressure 7-10 days prior. This slide appeared much larger and ran further than the previous weeks' wet slides.