Sawatch

Snowpack

Jason Konigsberg · Dec 5, 2019 · Vail & Summit County

Weather

I was generally below treeline where there was no wind. New snow estimated at 2". I was up near treeline for just a short time and I did not observe any wind or wind loading.

Snowpack

I traveled on low-angle northeast quarter slopes, generally the slope aspects we are concerned with. On these slopes and below treeline the snow depth was about 65 cm. A very thin snowpack exists on all other slopes below treeline. The slab, which is about a foot thick sits on top of 14 inches of depth hoar. The top of the depth hoar is fist hard, and 4 to 5 mm in size. I got easy compression test results but no propagating results in extended column tests at the top of the depth hoar.---As I got to the near treeline elevation band I observed a dramatic change. Shooting cracks and collapsing was evident. As I set my pack down to dig a pit, the slope collapses and cracks appeared on a small terrain feature about 50 feet away. In an extended column test I got easy propagating results on the fist hard depth hoar layer.