Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Alicia Zimmel · Feb 1, 2020 · Vail & Summit County

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Weather

Overcast, steady N/NW light winds with sustained moderate gusts. Visible snow transport lee to the N. Roughly 1" new overnight.

Snowpack

Shallow. Newly deposited DFs and RGwp of 4F hardness over a weak base of F hardness facets increasing in size to the ground.

Avalanche

Elevation: >TL roughly 12600ft, Aspect: SW Type: SS Trigger: AS/c Size: R1, D1 Dimensions: average 25cm deep at crown wall, 20 feet wide, ran about 800ft or the length of the path. Isolated pocket of wind slab on skier's right of Dog Leg where load was most prominent. Broke on the interface of new wind load over basal facets 1-2mm in size. Pocket released on a ski cut about a foot below triggering party's skis. Avalanche picked up low density snow in the guts of the path and gained mass. Avalanche ran to ground in some spots.