Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Mar 1, 2017 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Winds were calm below treeline with gusts not exceeding 15 mph at 11k feet. Looking around the surrounding high peaks, very little snow was being transported. New storm snow from the recent series of storms measures about 12 inches.
Snowpack
Sensitive cornice near ridgeline and on mid-slope cross-loaded terrain features. For the most part there was very little wind loading after about 50 feet down onto the slope off of ridgetop. Small cornice drops would trigger small slabs within storm snow...On a northeast-facing slope I found a well-developed layer of facets 40 cms down from the surface. A compression test yielded easy results...On a north-facing slope at 10,600 ft. I found the surface hoar layer that was buried on January 19th. Hard propagating results were obtained in an extended column test on this layer (ECTP23 x2). The surface hoar is buried 70cms from the surface.
Avalanche
Numerous D1 avalanches today from ski area and highway control work. Natural avalanches were also spotted in the Vail Narrows and Shrine Bowl. All avalanches broke in the new storm snow.