Vail & Summit County
SnowpackRon Simenhois · Nov 25, 2024 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Calm weather with mostly clear skies and temperatures in the low to mid 20s F.
Snowpack
The snowpack was 30 -70 where I traveled. On SW to W aspects, the snowpack was shallower (< 50 cm) with a distinguished thin crust layer under the new snow, about 10-15 cm from the surface. A weak F hard FC layer under this crust is the most concerning layer. That being said, although the snowpack is weak, I could not get a crack to propagate across an ECT test (ECTN9), and it is still too shallow to support crack propagation over long distances. The snowpack on the NW aspect is deeper (about 70 cm). It contains mostly FC layers under the new snow and lacks a slab layer. The FC layers are somewhat stronger than those on the SW aspect.