Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJason Konigsberg, Chris Baldwin · Apr 1, 2025 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Cold and mostly cloudy with light snow.
Snowpack
Without digging into the snow, the Loose Dry avalanche problem was obvious. These sluffs would run easily on a slick underlying crust, likely enhanced by the faceted layer mentioned above. These avalanches could pack a punch, especially in continuously steep, constricted terrain. Although we found a well-defined layer of facets on north and northeast beneath the new snow, the new snow was not a cohesive slab, so unless you find snow that has drifted into a cohesive slab, this layer isn't a problem for the moment. More snow and warm temperatures contributing to the settlement of the new snow into a slab could present a problem. We found a stout melt-freeze crust on all aspects we traveled and at all elevations. The only exception was due north at 11,300 ft. We still found the crust under the new snow, but it was more brittle and not as stout. It would be extremely difficult to affect any deeper layers under the stout crust. In several snowpits, we didn't even bother testing deeper layers due to the thickness and hardness of the upper crust. In many cases, the snowpack has seen meltwater through the top ~ 90 cm (highly variable based on aspect/elevation). The early March weak layers can still be seen in snowpit walls, but they are either strong or have seen meltwater. The snowpack is consolidating into a homogenous springtime snowpack.