Vail & Summit County

Conditons remainded fairly cold throughout the day, with light winds and dry snow surfaces.

The Christmas crust layer and the well-developed facets above and below are the primary layers of concern. The thin rime crust might be worth tracking in the future, but there was a small amount of snow on top. Below the crust, the snowpack is fully faceted, so any avalanche that fails will likely gouge to the bottom of the snowpack. We did find variations in the crust layer, and didn't find it on a north-facing slope, a little higher than where we dug, but did find it on an east-facing slope as well. Regardless, the snowpack is set up for future problems as we continue to get more snow or have a significant wind event. There was also widespread 5mm surface hoar that was intact and will likely get buried by this next storm.