Vail & Summit County
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Apr 22, 2024 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Above-freezing temperatures and intermittent snow squalls with no accumulation. Gusty, strong winds down to the valley bottom.
Snowpack
Below about 11,000 feet in elevation the snowpack was isothermal on the easterly slopes I ascended. A quick pit on a northerly-facing slope just above 11,000 feet was close to isothermal but had a colder layer in the midpack. The snowpack at lower elevations was supportable to skis, even in the late afternoon when I descended, although I was sinking nearly up to the top of my boots. On a northeast-facing slope at about 11,800 feet, the snowpack's top 10 to 20cm was wet rounded polycrystals that transitioned to dry decomposing fragments about 30cm from the surface. This snow rested on a melt-freeze crust that was supportable to both skis and boots. That crust was buried on April 20. The snow from April 16 was dry and composed of decomposing fragments and rounded grains resting on another, thicker and harder melt-freeze crust. The snowpack below that crust was rounded grains with ice bodies and ice layers. I dug about a meter deep to where I found a dust layer likely from March 3. My only result in an Extended Column Test was non-propagating after taps from the wrist below the most recent snow and the crust it's resting on. I found the wet surface snow up to about 12,500 feet in elevation where I began my descent. On the southerly-facing slope I descended, all of the most recent snow was wet and the uppermost crust layer was beginning to break down with free water running into it. That said, the crust was supportable to skis and I didn't break through it on my descent. I observed small recent Wet Loose avalanches on steep, rocky slopes that faced north to southeast near and above treeline. On the southeast face of Peak One, there was widespread rollerball activity, but no avalanches. Ski tracks from earlier in the day near the summit had rollerballs off of each turn on a northeast-facing slope. Although the wind was strong and snow was pluming off the summit, I did not notice any drifting of the new snow. I avoided steep slopes due to wet snow on both northerly and southerly-facing slopes.