Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

We traveled on snowmobiles from Vail Pass trailhead into Turkey Creek and did not observe any recent avalanche activity or other signs of instability such as cracking and collapsing. We parked the snowmobiles and traveled on skis from 10,500 to 11,900 and did not get any collapses. The recent storm snow from about a week ago is faceting quickly and there are not many signs of a cohesive and strong slab below treeline any more. The snowpack near treeline was deeper (100cms on a northeast slope) but was also mostly faceted and we did not find a slab that would be capable of communicating a fracture. The faceted layer beneath the storm snow that resulted in many avalanches after the 12/25 storm was stronger and thinner than previously. Overall the snowpack has poor structure but lacks a strong slab. The near-surface facets will be concerning with a load as the surface looks similar to what it looked like before our last storm cycle.