Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Jan 23, 2017 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
No wind or wind loading on an 11k ft sub-ridge. HN24 4-6" with HST at 12". Snow was light for most of the day, increasing to S2 at 2 PM.
Snowpack
In three snowpits (2 on north, 1 on southwest) below treeline I did not find any evidence of buried surface hoar. The weakest interface is between last night's snow and the previous day's snow. There is only about 4 to 6" of new snow so this weak interface is not an issue in non wind-loaded areas. I got repeatable easy CT results at 15cms and 30cms at the new snow/old snow interface but no propagation in ECTs. There really is not much of a slab in areas that are sheltered from the wind. I have no doubt that some buried surface hoar exists in places, as evidenced by the small avalanche on a 30 degree slope yesterday near Vail Pass, but I could not find it in this area.