Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

Ryan Zarter · Feb 8, 2025 · Vail & Summit County

Weather

Broken skies (we should see if somebody can fix them) with light snow and moderate SW winds. Plenty of transport above treeline. About 5.5" new overnight with 0.4" SWE at a nearby highway study plot. Hs was 48" at same location.

Snowpack

We managed to find a recently formed melt-freeze crust on a southeast-facing slope above treeline in Batchplant. The crust sits on top of a thin layer of near surface facets, and ECTP results below the crust suggest this could be a problematic combo if we see a significant new snow load. This crust quickly disappears if you move onto more east-facing slopes. We did not find any evidence of water percolating below the old snow surface, and much of the extant snowpack is heavily faceted. Winds were drifting last night's new snow, but we found little evidence of a reactive wind slab, though we weren't necessarily travelling in the areas you would expect to find it. We only had one instance of minor cracking on a drifted feature, with cracks not reaching much past our skis. That being said, I'm sure if you went looking for it, you could probably find a small wind slab on a drifted feature.