Vail & Summit County
AvalancheDrew Gibson · Dec 9, 2023 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Intermittent snow throughout the day with short periods of S1 snowfall. Mostly light NW winds.
Snowpack
Above and near treeline on east and southeast aspects some wind drifts produced some moderate cracking, but mostly within the snow from the current and last storm. There was no current wind transport, but plenty of evidence of previous transport on easterly faces above treeline. I could see what looked like debris from previous activity down in Carter Gulch, but the visibility was too poor to be sure. No collapses were observed while traveling near treeline on southeast-facing slopes, but as soon as the aspect changed to more easterly, big, loud, collapses were felt and heard. A few quick test pits revealed new snow on top of a dense slab that rests on weak facets. All column tests failed on isolation. See the attached photo for the structure. On northeast-facing slopes, rumbling collapses, lasting a couple of seconds were felt, communicating long distances and shaking the tops of small, mostly buried trees. Pit data from these areas showed very easy failures on the weak facets sitting on the ground. There's evidence of old slides from during the last cycle on NE slopes near treeline.
Avalanche
Old slides from the last cycle. Northeast near treeline.