Vail & Summit County
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Dec 3, 2022 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Broken skies quickly became overcast with light snowfall (S-1) and light westerly winds
Snowpack
Snow cover was very thin until about 10,500'. Depth at that elevation was about 45cm in protected areas. Obvious wind effects on westerly aspects above 11,000'. The old wind slab was generally not supportable, but present at about 11,500' and above. This made for difficult skinning as my skis were on the ground for a lot of the climb. No cracking or collapsing was noted, likely due to lack of continuity of the slab in this area, but Loose Dry avalanches were easily pushed on any slope around 38 degrees and steeper below treeline. An ECT at 11,800' had moderate/easy propagating results in the facets beneath the old wind slab.