Vail & Summit County
SnowpackAnonymous · Dec 11, 2022 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Began touring at roughly 8:30am. Skies were clear, winds were mostly calm with the occasional gust. Temperature was in the mid-upper twenties. Dug a pit near tree line, 11,800', east aspect.
Snowpack
While ascending, we noticed moderate cracks throughout the tour. Snow pit was dug at the top of the ridge to the parking lot. Roughly 40 centimeters deep, with the bottom 15 centimeters being 3-4mm facets, on top of a 25-30 centimeter slab. Two quick column tests yielded propagation upon isolation and a second two taps from the wrists. These both failed at the surface of the 15cm facet layer. The upper slab thickness is depended on aspect, terrain on a more south eastern aspect showed more evidence of wind loading and a denser slab on top.