Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Ben Bauer · Jan 8, 2023 · Vail & Summit County

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Observation photo 1Observation photo 2Observation photo 3

Weather

Mostly sunny, temps in the 20s. High winds observed at ridge tops. More moderate winds below treeline. Ridge tops seemed like they were being scoured, but it seemed likely that lee and cross loaded areas were experiencing lots of snow transport and loading.

Snowpack

Did not have time to do pit tests, but we observed a weak layer (4 finger) about 20-30 cm below the surface, in addition to to the usual sugary snow at the bottom of the snowpack. Above the mid pack weak layer, the snow structure was right-side-up with lovely fluffy snow on top.

Avalanche

We observed several small dry loose avalanches on a variety of aspects and elevations as well as a small slab avalanche on a S facing aspect above treeline (zoom in on 3rd photo).