Vail & Summit County
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Mar 7, 2023 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Temperatures warmed into the high 20s near treeline with scattered clouds and light winds from the north.
Snowpack
Below treeline on east to south aspects the snow surface was moist but dry below the surface. Near treeline the snow surface stayed cold and dry with the light to moderate wind. Travel was supportable throughout and ski penetration did not exceed 30cm at any point. No signs of instability were noted on the ascent or descent. There was a thin and weak melt-freeze crust about 20-30cm below the surface on east and southeast aspects. On the east aspect, there was a propagating result in an Extended Column Test after 17 taps above the crust. On the southeast aspect, there was no result in an ECT test, but in a Compression Test there was a non-planar break after 24 taps. On the southeast aspect, the snowpack generally consisted of alternating melt-freeze crusts and harder wind-packed layers resting on about 60cm of basal facets. On the east aspect, there was only one crust near the surface with a generally rounding snowpack. On a northeast aspect, there were no crusts but there were alternating harder wind-packed layers ranging from one-finger to knife-hard on the hand hardness scale with softer faceted layers. Basal facets composed the bottom 50cm of the snowpack in that pit. There was no result in an ECT test, but there was a sudden collapse after the 15th tap in a Compression Test at 30 cm from the surface at the interface with a one-finger hard wind-packed layer and a four-finger hard faceted layer. I did not see any evidence of recent avalanche activity, but northerly-facing slopes were heavily loaded with bulbous pillows of snow lee to terrain features near and above treeline. We did not travel above treeline, but southerly-facing slopes at that elevation appeared wind-stripped and scoured. Snow depths were generally 150-200cm with drifted areas over 300cm deep.