Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Tim Bounds · Apr 26, 2020 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Sunny & calm at the trailhead (08:00) and stayed that way pretty much the whole time. The sun was definitely impacting surface snow, but I never punched through.

Snowpack

Conditions were variable, some soft crusts, some small cracks in the surface snow as I was skinning up toward Gold Hill, but whatever new snow fell a few days ago seemed to bond well. Did not dig a pit. Observed bare spots on portions of Mayflower Hill (W/SW aspects); probably a combination of sun and wind buff.

Avalanche

Observed a loose wet avalanche on steep SW aspect (D1); see picture below. Also saw several loose wet avalanches from steep & rocky SW aspects, some looked a little slabby, not just point releases. Still a pretty sizable cornice stretching almost all the way across the Gold Hill ridge.