Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

Jason Konigsberg, Ron Simenhois · Mar 11, 2017 · Vail & Summit County

Weather

Scattered high cloud and moderate winds just at ridgetop. Very warm and calm winds below ridgelines.

Snowpack

We looked at two slopes, a north-facing aspect (Mushroom Bowl) and an east-facing aspect in East Vail... In the Mushroom Bowl area we found a snowpack that was 3 meters deep (due to wind-drifted snow throughout the season) and a few weak layers in the upper meter of the snowpack, but none that were reactive in extended column tests. There is a faceted layer 40cms from the surface (the same that is widespread across the zone), but it is gaining strength...In East Vail we found a 2 meter deep snowpack on an east-facing slope. The snowpack contains moist and wet layers and is generally transitioning to a isothermal snowpack. The weak layer of concern is 30 cms from the surface and is a thin layer of facets on top of a wet layer of snow that rests on top of a melt-freeze crust. This layer repeatedly produced moderate to hard propagating test results. Although the snowpack is in some form of transition, only the top 5 cms were moist from the current warming. Wet slabs could be a future issue as warming further penetrates the relatively dry upper slab.