Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Apr 28, 2016 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Overcast skies in the morning gave way to broken skies at times with the strong spring sun poking through. Light southeasterly winds near and above treeline. No snow transport.
Snowpack
2 to 4 inches of snow from the past couple of days sit on top of a melt-freeze crust on most aspects and at most elevations. North slopes that are above treeline are maybe the only exception to the widespread melt-freeze crust. Near and below treeline the recent new snow was moist. On these near and below treeline slopes, steeper than 38 degrees, it was easy to initiate long-running Loose Wet avalanches. The moist snow would slide easily on a dry snow layer just above the melt-freeze crust. Above treeline the new snow was still dry as of noon. At all elevations the snowpack is supportable to skis.---Isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow exist from yesterdays moderate to strong west to northwest winds. There was no evidence of instability in wind-loaded areas.
Avalanche
Long-running Loose Wet avalanches up to D1.5 in size. One avalanche ran 800 vertical feet and resulted in a debris pile that was deep enough to bury a person. Most avalanches were much smaller and the only danger would be getting knocked off of your feet.