Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJason Konigsberg · Mar 17, 2018 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Winds were very strong yesterday. A lot of snow was moving but it was hard to tell if the wind loading was effective. Skies were mostly cloudy in the morning with snow showers, clearing by afternoon.
Snowpack
The snowpack below treeline never recovered from the last thaw before getting covered with a few inches of new snow. Moist or wet snow lies underneath the new snow and the below treeline snowpack is mostly unsupportable.---Northerly slopes still have dry snow throughout and the bond to new snow was good where not wind drifted.---Southerly near treeline slopes are dust on crust.--- We were only on a near-treeline ridge for a short time and there were small slabs of wind-drifted snow. Observing bigger above treeline easterly slopes there was no sign of recent avalanches.