Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

isaac schnitzer · Dec 8, 2015 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Ptarmigan hill, E NE aspect 11800ft overcast then transitioned to sunny and partly cloudy

Snowpack

E NE windslab 11800ft broke to ground on what looked like depth hoar around the rocky face

Avalanche

crown varied in size from one foot to 3 feet around the rollover above the rocks. The windslab broke on a depth hoar layer of large faceted crystals at ground level. The crown broke 75 feet across and ran about 125 feet down the slope and stopped just above the flats. The terrain was around 33-35 degrees at the crown. The rider was able to ski away from the slide unharmed. R1 D1 slide