Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Anonymous · Jan 15, 2018 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Sky Cover: Overcast Depth of Total Snow: 30in Weather Description: Slightly snowing and clam

Snowpack

Vail's side-country is still experiencing a lot of collapsing and the shallow snow pack below treeline is sliding quite easily off the depth hoar on the ground.

Avalanche

After experiencing widespread collapsing hiking out to Racquet we were discussing our best options for decent or retreat. The snowpack made that choice easy. Upon approach a significant collapse remotely triggered (50ft away) the rollover at the entrance sending 2 and 3 foot tall blocks into the trees below. The slide was about 50 feet wide, narrowing quickly into the gully and running for a few hundred yards down to lower Racquet. Likely a D2R2 that broke off the depth hoar on the ground.