Vail & Summit County
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek · Jan 2, 2022 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Cold temperatures, Clear sky, Light winds gusting Moderate and Light ridgeline snow transport today. Felt warm in the sun with barely a cloud in the sky all day but the air temperature remained cold (highs in the low teens). Calm winds until reaching above treeline terrain with occasional Moderate gusts transporting very little amounts of snow.
Snowpack
Southerly aspects had an average HS of 70-100cm with a ski penetration of around 20-30cm. Southeast-facing slopes were a bit deeper with recent wind loading. Spatially variable crusts still exist below the past 9 days of snow. No observed signs of instability on the southerly slopes that I traveled over today. North-facing slopes are deeper with an average HS of 100-150 cm with 30-50cm of well-developed facets at the base F to 4F- hard. Snowpack tests showed an unreactive snowpack but I triggered two large collapses with shooting cracks on northeast-facing slopes, one near treeline and one above treeline.
Avalanche
Found one distinct avalanche crown from several days ago and observed two avalanches that were remotely triggered likely by the same group of skiers. Could make out what looked like several old avalanche crowns but were to filled in to determine for sure if they were an avalanche or not.