Vail & Summit County
AvalancheKyle Lefkoff · Feb 24, 2018 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Cloudy, breezy and cold - 0-5 degree F on the summit of Benchmark Bowl at 3700m 10cm of new snow overnight. Northwest wind 10-20mph. Calm and cool on the lee side of Benchmark Bowl, 3600m East Facing terrain
Snowpack
No red flags were observed in Benchmark this morning. 10-20cm of new snow in the last two day's storm cycle were sloughing in places. There was little to no wind affect on the surface of the snow on the lee aspects. Boot penetration of 30cm. We dug a hole just below treeline on the East Aspect of West Marvin's at 3500m, 100m below the summit ridge of Benchmark Bowl. Our Vail Zone mid-minter snowpack is now growing, bridging and gaining strength in a below-average year. We observed 185-190cm HS. Below 20cm of storm snow, there was a 80-100cm slab of increasing density, from 4F to 1F. 60-80cm of depth hoar underlies this stiff slab, and represents the danger in our current snowpack. This is a deep, persistent danger to skiers on higher angle slopes, and will be with us for some time. Our CT revealed no result, but if a skier finds the sweet spot in a shallower part of our snowpack, the resulting slide will break to the ground with devastating consequences. Please be careful out there, and don't let your guard down despite the improving conditions.
Avalanche
No avalanches were observed today in the Benchmark Bowl terrain.