Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJ Moore · Feb 1, 2018 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Slight overcast, dry, wind gusts to about 20 mph in higher elevations (>10,000')
Snowpack
Observation from Shrine Pass area. Tree cover has beep somewhat protective to the snowpack >10k feet, Protected areas are still soft (not blower by any stretch). This is especially noted on N-NE aspects. It seems most everything that has been kissed by the sun lately has a firm crust (and increased density). With that said, settling, cracks (some propagation) were noted on all aspects (again over 10k feet), greatest on S-W aspects. No slides noted, but slopes over 25 degrees were not assessed. Note: significant decrease in snow depth below about 9500' in elevation noted, this was found on all aspects and demonstrates shallow conditions with rocks/wood lurking just under the surface.