Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Jason Lederer · May 13, 2019 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Partly cloudy, breezy out of the northwest. Temps in the 30's at the Summit of Buffalo (10:30 AM), 40s-50 at the bottom of Silver Coulior (11 AM).

Snowpack

NNE facing between approximately 10,600 and 12,400 feet. Wind buffed/affected powder in the top half of the couloir, spring-like conditions in the bottom half of the coulior.

Avalanche

Encountered avalanche debris in the approximately bottom 1/3 of Silver Coulior; likely a refrozen wet slide from earlier in the week. Appears to have generated as a point release, likely as the eastern rock wall flanking the coulior warmed, weakening the adjacent snowpack. The avalanche formed in the upper snowpack and did not run to ground.