Vail & Summit County
SnowpackBrad Sawtell · Mar 18, 2011 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Warm and mostly sunny. Winds were light to moderate and mostly from the south.
Snowpack
The snowpack is in a transition stage from cold and dry to warm and wet. I only found consistent dry snow on a shady north aspect near treeline. Snow depth depends on aspect but is mostly around 170 cm's. A north aspect snowpit was 200 cm's. I found 3 different thin ice lenses within the upper half of the snowpack on east and south aspects. New snow was bonding well. Stability tests showed inconsistent results in each snowpit requireing a conservative approach. In the north aspect snow pit, more consitent results. ECTP26-28, 80 cm's below the surface on a thin faceted layer above a thin crust. New snow was bonding well.