Vail & Summit County
AvalancheKreston Rohrig · Nov 30, 2024 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
It was crisp and cold to start the day, but it warmed quickly as we climbed out of the inversion. Lenticular clouds formed early in the afternoon, and the wind picked up at higher elevations.
Snowpack
West-facing slopes near treeline were the most reactive and the still spookiest, in my opinion. I could see plenty of evidence of upslope drifting around the range and still plenty of snow in upper start zones. The snowpack was similar on west and east aspects, with a 50-60cm slab capping off a thick layer (20-30cm) of small facets at the ground. The big difference was that the layer of facets on the west was dry and weak, producing propagating results in ECTs. On the east and southeast, the layer of facets was either moist or sandwiched between older melt/freeze crusts and did not produce any results.
Avalanche
Plenty of avalanches across the compass and at all elevations likely occurred between the 26th and 27th. Some notable ones were on the north side of Bald Mt and the bowl to the north, and the west-facing slopes near Birthday Chute. Other smaller avalanches were observed on steep rollovers or the sides of steep gullies throughout the drainages.