Vail & Summit County
AvalancheKreston Rohrig · Dec 22, 2018 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Periods of intense snowfall tapered off by mid-day with total accumulations up to 6". Patches of blue sky occasionally poked through an otherwise overcast sky as the storm cleared. Calm NW winds at ridgetop with minimal snow transport.
Snowpack
Below treeline slopes are really losing strength as supportable slabs have faceted away. It was still manageable to travel with skis but boot pen went straight to the ground. I dug a pit on north facing slope near treeline at 11400' and results weren't much better. The new surface slabs were still very soft but propagated fractures on very low test scores (ECTP2&3) on a near surface crust/facet layer just below the storm snow. Below this layer, the mid-pack has faceted and become weak almost to the ground. Steep north-facing slopes at this elevation will start to be a major concern with more snow and the formation of stiffer slabs.
Avalanche
None observed but did get some small sluffing in the new snow on a steep test slope.