Vail & Summit County
SnowpackAndrew McWilliams · Apr 22, 2023 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Light winds and snow for the morning. Some small holes of blue, but the sky was generally obscured. Temperatures were in the high teens.
Snowpack
At lower elevations, the new snow was about 15cm deep. On the ridge of Marjorie Bowl at about 12,000 feet there was about 30cm of snow above the most recent melt-freeze crust. The top 10cm of this snow was very low density and composed of precipitation particles. Below this layer but above the crust the snow was slightly harder and composed of decomposing fragments. The new snow is resting on a melt-freeze crust and was well bonded to the old surface. I did not observe any slab development in the new snow. Loose Dry avalanches in the new snow were small and were running within the new and not on the crust layer. I'd be concerned if the wind picked up or if the snow warmed rapidly. A Wind Slab problem would easily develop with increased winds, and a Wet Loose shed cycle would occur with above-freezing temperatures.