Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Dec 27, 2017 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Winds were strong at ridgetop. The wind was still able to find plenty of snow to move but the strong winds were better at cornice-building than loading slopes.
Snowpack
Collapsing heard at most elevations and different aspects including westerly. They were loud but didn't sound like they went for long distances. ---Storm snow at the below-treeline elevation has settled to be about 10 inches. This recent snow sits on top of a faceted pack and results in extended column tests were easy. The slab is fairly thin in this particular area and avalanches if triggered would probably only be dangerous if combined with a terrain trap.---Near treeline the slab is thicker and on wind-loaded slopes can be up to 3 or 4 feet thick. Recent avalanches that I observed are breaking in old snow and not at an interface. These avalanche break initially at the upper portion of the basal facets/DH which is up to a foot thick and then step down to the ground.---Besides the obvious avalanche danger, cornices have become very sensitive. They aren't large by Colorado standards but they can break off in refrigerator-size chunks and will likely trigger avalanches below.
Avalanche
Many avalanches released in the last few days and the majority of the ones that I could see were small. I did find two recent avalanches on a northeast and east slope that were large and propagated long distances. These avalanches were at least D2 in size.