Vail & Summit County
SnowpackJeff Dobronyi · Dec 14, 2022 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Cold, S1, OVC with moderate to strong W+NW winds NTL. HN24 was around 8-10 inches. Precip waned around midday, then increased to S2 by 1500hr. Winds decreased slightly throughout day, but wind transport was moderate all day.
Snowpack
HS around 80-100cm NTL, 50-80c BTL. Crusts were noticeable below HST, about 30cm down, on S and SW slopes. In wind sheltered areas, W aspect BTL/NTL had 80-100cm of snow with ~40cm of recent HST forming a slab over weak facets. Whumping, cracking, collapsing were widespread in these areas. Other areas with the same W aspects had HS 50cm with no weak layer at the ground, but the distribution of these recently bare slopes was variable. Some SW and S aspects had this poor structure as well, but mostly in low angle terrain. Steep S and SW aspects seemed shallower.