Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJeff Welch · Apr 21, 2019 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Good freeze overnight, but rapidly warming in the AM. East aspects were softening by 10am and South faces by 11am. Around noon high cloud cover and moderate winds prevented further warming on most aspects, and snow surface was supportive to skis even at low elevations in the afternoon.
Snowpack
Did not dig. Snow surfaces were largely subject to freeze thaw cycles on all solar aspects. High elevation North and Northeast aspects snow surfaces were generally still cold, ranging from chalky firm to dry compacted powder. Near and below treeline, evidence of freeze thaw cycles was more apparent on shady aspects.
Avalanche
Observed many small wet loose avalanches on a variety of aspects that ran in the previous few days. We did not observe any new activity on 4/20. We also observed one very large, natural avalanche that ran during the mid-March cycle on a south aspect above South Willow Creek. The slide was previously reported here: https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/obs/obs_report.php?obs_id=55693 This avalanche ran into mature timber and broke trees up to 24" in diameter. Flagging on trees adjacent to the debris was evident 15-50 ft up from the level of the debris. Multiple connected paths appear to have run simultaneously. We estimate the slide at R4 D4