Vail & Summit County
SnowpackMike Floyd, Kreston Rohrig · Jan 30, 2021 · Aspen
Weather
Very light northwest breeze, moderate snow, S1 most of the day and S2 at times, with 25 cm new snow accumulations at around 10,800. Snow was low density and not wind affected. Around 15 cm HN at the trailhead at 9,000'.
Snowpack
Our route was entirely below treeline, and there was 80-120 cm of mostly faceted snow, including 10-25 cm of new snow on the top. Foot penetration is to the ground. Sun-affected aspects have some decomposing crusts in the middle and lower snowpack from early season warm, dry weather with facets above and below. There was a very soft 25 cm storm slab in areas that we traveled, but it was only a concern for avalanches if you were under steep terrain traps like cutbanks or gullies. Areas of concern over the next day or two will be where the storm snow thickens into a wind slab. We did not observe any avalanches or other signs of instability.