Vail & Summit County
AvalancheScott Toepfer · Feb 28, 2014 · Sawatch
Weather
From 6:30 to 9 am it was snowing 2" per hour, and then storm broke. Winds remained very strong with notable plumes hundreds of feet long off peaks near Boreas Pass. A lot of wind transporting snow even below treeline. Winds were quite impressive.
Snowpack
Intense wind drifting/loading onto east to south east to south aspects near and above treeline. Fresh wind slab out there, but only one small natural noted from a large area. I believe the new Wind Slab needed a trigger of some sort, human, explosive, cornice.
Avalanche
Intense wind transport and snow drifting, though a lot sublimating into atmosphere. Only saw one very small natural on a west aspect gully feature heavy cross loading from N wind. Probably a chunk of cornice calved off and triggered a Wind Slab