Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

Patrick Gephart · Dec 22, 2018 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Clear/overcast, temperatures in the teens. Light wind. Black Mountain, Arapahoe Basin Area. West facing, 11,950 feet.

Snowpack

New snow from 11/19 storm slightly wind affected, indicating wind direction may have changed and been pushing snow down the west facing slope. Lots of near surface faceting under new snow when we hit 11,900 feet in more sheltered areas. A small whumpf was noticed when booting which indicated a clear red flag. No visible surface cracks noticed. Possible surface hoar below new snow could have formed causing weaker bonding as well.