Vail & Summit County
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Mar 8, 2024 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Light to moderate snowfall throughout the day with about one to two inches of accumulation. Light winds were variable, but felt northerly. Temperatures were in the high teens throughout the day.
Snowpack
I dug on west, north, and east aspects below treeline. I generally found a snowpack over 125cm deep in representative locations. On east and west aspects, there are a variety of crusts in the upper snowpack above the early February weak layer. The most recent crusts are fragile, but crusts from middle and late February are thicker and harder. In each pit, I observed the dust layer from early March (3/3) and the early February weak layer (2/2). The dust layer is buried about 10-20cm deep and the 2/2 layer is 50-70cm deep. The primary layer of concern is still the 2/2 layer. My pit on a west aspect had only non-propagating results in the upper snowpack and no result on the 2/2 layer. In my pits on north and east aspects, the 2/2 layer had propagating results after taps from the elbow in Extended Column Tests (ECTs). My pit on a north aspect showed no weak layers of concern above the 2/2 layer, and the snow above this layer ranged from fist to four-finger hard on the Hand Hardness Scale. On the east aspect, there were crusts with softer snow on either side above the 2/2 layer, but no results in ECTs. I observed no signs of instability during my travels. There were light winds and snow throughout the day with two to four inches of accumulation by the time I left the field. Areas closer to Loveland Pass and northerly slopes had more snow than areas further west at lower elevations and on sunnier slopes. This new snow may present a wet snow problem with warmer temperatures and ample sunshine over the weekend.