Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Mar 15, 2017 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Winds were fairly constant in the 10 to 20 mph range with gusts in the 30s.
Snowpack
Traveled from 9000 ft to 13k on very supportable surfaces. In the morning surfaces were frozen and impenetrable. By afternoon the top 5 to 10 cms of snow became moist on slopes affected by the sun in areas sheltered from the wind. Wet activity was very limited with barely any rollerballing or other signs of instability. Steep sheltered slopes in the trees could be coerced into "pushalanches" but again only the top few inches of snow. As soon as a slope or area became shaded the surface snow would freeze again quickly. Above treeline north-facing slopes were stripped. South slopes were rough with sastrugi and old hard wind drifts. All above treeline surface snow stayed frozen except for sheltered, steep, and rocky areas.