Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Nov 27, 2017 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Skies were clear in the morning. In the afternoon clouds and wind increased. There didn't seem like much snow available for transport. Temperature felt cool above treeline with the wind and snow surfaces stayed cold. Near to below treeline where there was less wind the snow surface was wet with what felt like much warmer temps.
Snowpack
Above treeline east-facing slopes have a poor snowpack structure with small-grained facets near the ground. We got medium ECT results, failing near the ground in two different snowpits. The slab is of a variable thickness with wind-loaded areas holding a 1F-hard slab of up to 50cms. The snowpack on east-facing slopes improved dramatically as we descended to treeline. Near treeline these slopes only had an HS of 15cms and it was composed of melt forms with a wet snow surface.--- Southeast slopes at all elevations are thin and contain no persistent weak layers.---Northeast slopes are especially weak with a prominent thin and translucent crust near the ground. In tests fractures would propagate below the crust in 2-3 mm depth hoar. The northeast slope we dug on had a snow depth of 72 cms which consisted of a 40 cm 1F-hard slab over multiple layers of facets and depth hoar.