Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

Jason Konigsberg · Jan 18, 2018 · Vail & Summit County

Weather

Overcast, windy and cool to start the day. Clouds cleared throughout the day and winds were only moderate at ridgetop. It felt warm out of the wind.

Snowpack

I traveled from about 10k feet to 12.5k ft on a variety of aspects and observed no collapsing or cracking.---The snowpack in the area I traveled was generally thin and faceted below treeline. Near to above treeline there were areas of up to 2 meters of snow from previous winds as well as the usual bare to non-existent snow cover on westerly slopes. Deeper wind-loaded northeast, east and southeast slopes have continuous snow coverage. The snowpack in previously wind-drifted areas was strong with poor structure. The wind-drifted slabs are very thick and hard and it would take a big load or a rider on a steep slope riding over a thin area to trigger an avalanche that breaks at the ground. The depth hoar near the ground was found to be weak, cohesion-less and either fist or four-finger hardness in every pit that I dug. A southeast-facing snowpit above treeline had the same poor structure as shady slopes. I looked at my compass three time to be sure I was not on an east or northerly slope. On this southeast slope a PST stability test resulted in a score of 30/100 END on an upper depth hoar layer.---This area is very different than the western part of the zone as it is extremely wind affected in many areas. The same poor structure exists but the depth and hardness of the wind-drifts make large avalanches harder to trigger.