Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Benjamin Wilson · Dec 28, 2018 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Weather was clear but relatively cold. The morning began at -6 at 7am MST. The high for the day at Vail Pass never reached above 20 degrees. Cloud cover was thin, mostly clear, though heavy storm clouds came in from the North around 2:30 pm. Wind was unremarkable today.

Snowpack

Location: Vail Pass - North side of I-70 Aspect: of Snow pit was East/SouthEast Thin hard crust on top about a half inch thick. Below that was >3 feet (hip Deep) of heavy wet, deep snow down to an icey layer, unknown how deep. 11,800 - 12,000ft

Avalanche

South/ South East aspect of the Lobster Claw 11,500 - 11,750 It's difficult to see in the photos, but to skiers right of the avalanche in the pictures is a long fracture line across the rocks I would estimate 30 - 40 meters