Vail & Summit County
AvalancheBill Hoblitzell · Dec 14, 2014 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Calm, light snow. light wind from N-NW on climb from Poma to benchmark at 11,400. No wind below ridgeline.
Snowpack
Observed a highly variable snowpack based on aspect. An East facing planar slope at 11,200' (upper 'Tele Bowl') had 15-30cm new snow (F) on top of a mostly-supportable crust. Weak facets (4F) existed under the crust and transitioned to a relatively stiffer (1F) midpack slab. A thin layer of depth hoar was present at one pit location, with small anchors protruding into the stiffer mid slab. At a nearby pit location on a more open portion of the slope that receives more sun and less wind-protected snowfall, the basal facets were much more extensive. Did not perform any strength/stability tests at either location. Lower down, at ~10,200, amount of new snow was significantly less. < 10cm. On a more south-easterly aspect the crust from the previous week of above-freezing temps and was thicker and very hard, underlain by additional crust and ice layers to ground. Total snow depth on that slop was 30-40cm
Avalanche
Did not observe any.