Vail & Summit County
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Nov 28, 2025 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Broken skies with above-freezing temperatures and moderate winds from the northwest.
Snowpack
On the snowiest looking slope I could find, an east-facing slope near treeline, I walked into the deepest and steepest looking part of the slope and got the whole drift to collapse and crack. I dug a quick snowpit in the same drift and got a propagating result on my second tap from the wrist in an Extended Column Test (ECT). While that one drift was unstable, it wasn't connected across the slope and quickly transitioned to areas with grass, rocks, and bushes protruding through the snow. Moreover, while the denser slab collapsed and cracked, it didn't slide at all. The snowpack was very simple, consisting of a one-finger, on the Hand Hardness Scale, resting on fist-hard facets. The drifted snow was about 20 to 40 cm thick, and the basal facets were about 5 to 10 cm thick. In areas without drifted snow, there was about 10 to 20 cm of faceted snow on the ground. Until areas like these begin to grow more connected and gain more volume, we'll be stuck in LOW (1 of 5) danger.