Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Jason Konigsberg · Jan 10, 2016 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Obscured to scattered in the morning. Clearing in the afternoon. Light northwest wind ~5-15mph with moderate snow transport. Wind felt stronger with cold temps but the speed was light at 12k ridgetops.

Snowpack

Westerly aspects BTL all faceted with some mid-pack melt-freeze crusts. East aspects ATL that slid during XMas cycle have about 12-16" of snow above the old bed surface. Bond of existing snow to old bed surface is good. Wind was drifting snow to lee aspects (east-southeast-south). Minimal cracking in wind deposited snow. No naturals or skier-triggered avalanches observed. If you went looking, you could possibly trigger a small Wind Slab avalanche in very steep terrain (~38+ degree).

Avalanche

None observed