Vail & Summit County

I triggered a small R1D1 avalanche remotely from a test slope, where the slope steepened and broke over, ripping out a small pocket.

Skies were obscured all day with very light snowfall. Eerily calm winds given the windy conditions in other parts of the state.

The new 10 inch (25cm) slab didn't propagate in stability tests, but I did get a deeper failure on a layer of mid-ppack facets. This could be an ideal setup for step-down avalanches, as the new slab grows in size or becomes more cohesive. The new slab is sitting on weak near-surface facets, with weaker layers of facets below that.