Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

Ryan Zarter · Apr 2, 2020 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Cloud cover increased from Scattered to Broken during the course of the day. Winds were moderate and gusty above treeline, increasing and becoming strong mid-afternoon as a snow squall passed over.

Snowpack

We travelled on east to south to west aspects during the day. Above treeline the winds kept the snow surface dry. A stout melt-freeze crust was present on south to southeast aspects above treeline. On east aspects near and below treeline we found a moist to wet melt-freeze crust on the snow surface. This melt-freeze crust was ubiquitous elsewhere in our travels, but remained dry. In a snowpit on an east aspect near treeline, the upper foot of the snowpack consisted of alternating layers of melt-freeze crusts with the past couple of weeks of storm snow sandwiched in between. We found ECTP results below the lowest melt-freeze crust. This sits on top of a pencil hard mid-pack over rounding facets. No signs of instability were observed during our travels.