Vail & Summit County
SnowpackMike Polhemus · Dec 30, 2015 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Sunny morning -5 F. North aspect at about 11,900. Slope angle 25-30 degrees.
Snowpack
Wind blown north face that had created a heavy wind slab. We dug a snowpit and performed a 30 cm isolated column test on the windblown aspect and found interesting results. The within the first taps (from the wrist) a 4 cm wind crust broke off the top of the column. After the third tap from the elbow the entire column collapsed all the way to the ground. That being said we stayed on the low angle terrain and you should too.