Vail & Summit County
AvalancheDrew Gibson · Nov 8, 2022 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Clear and mostly calm in the drainage, occasional swirling wind. Light westerly wind in the parking area at 1400.
Snowpack
On NW aspect near treeline: Thin cover, approximately 20cm-40cm on slope. A quick pit revealed 35cm of total snow. 20cm of 4 Finger hard 1mm decomposing forms over 15cm of Fist hard .5mm-1mm facets. Multiple Extended Column Tests produced various results, from ECTN, ECTP3 and ECTP12. The 4 Finger hard layer was only in pockets, many places was Fist hard to the ground. The decomposing forms are showing signs of faceting. Many rock ribs and terrain breaks have been exposed and obvious signs of wind stripping are apparent. Some gullies and terrain features are cross loaded. Multiple collapses were felt as we moved off small pockets of wind loaded snow. Collapses were initiated in areas of thin snow cover where we had full depth effect. Collapsing stayed isolated to the immediate area. No visual signs of collapses or cracking was noted in the wind loaded snow. Snow cover is holding on the colder aspect and weakening rapidly. There are not many areas where you could trigger an avalanche but these are obvious as the only places with enough snow to be tempted to ride.
Avalanche
We jumped on a small-isolated wind-loaded roll and we were able to get a D0.5 pocket to pop out.