Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Nov 15, 2018 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Mostly clear day today with warm temperatures. The moderate winds at ridgetop felt chilly. No snow transport observed.
Snowpack
I traveled on mostly east and southeast slopes at all elevation bands during a recreational trip. Below treeline the snowpack is still very thin with many obstacles. At this elevation and on sunny slopes, the snowpack has gone through a few melt-freeze cycles. As I got near treeline the snow depth on east-facing slopes increased to about 45 cms in sheltered areas. The upper snowpack has seen significant faceting and older crusts near the ground are starting to lose strength and facet as well. Although the thin snowpack is faceting top to bottom, the faceting in the upper snowpack will be most relevant to a future load. Near ridgetop but still at the near treeline elevation I found a deeper snowpack in wind-loaded areas. One snowpit I dug was 110 cms deep with a 1F to P slab sitting on a thin layer of 1-2 mm facets near the ground. At the surface a thin layer of near-surface facets rest on top of the hard slab. The snow surface on southerly slopes at all elevations became moist today, just the top couple cms. East-facing upper-elevation slopes stayed dry.---Surface hoar was observed on many slopes but it was mostly laying down or getting destroyed by the sun. I didn't travel on any sheltered northerly slopes so SH may exist there as a few other observations point to. NSF bigger concern for the future where I traveled.
Avalanche
No old or new avalanches observed with good visibility