Gunnison

Heavy snow from the weekend formed thick slabs precariously above a weak snowpack.  The most concerning aspects are found on the north half of the compass and any slope recently drifted by westerly winds.  Since slabs are commonly 2 to 3 feet thick and deeper on wind-loaded terrain, expect avalanches to be dangerously large.  Winds drifting snow at upper elevations could produce a few natural avalanches today, so give a wide birth to steep slopes above you.  You can reduce the odds of triggering a dangerous avalanche by avoiding drifted features and choosing lower-angled terrain without steep slopes above on suspect aspects. 

The snowpack continues to teeter near failure on some slopes around the forecast area.  The recent storm cycle doubled the depth of snow on some terrain, a significant loading event by any measure.  The most likely places to trigger a dangerous avalanche are well-defined by previous weak layer formation and recent wind loading.  Slopes facing the compass's north half have a very poor snowpack structure.  The drought conditions in January and early February caused the snowpack to facet and weaken, and now those layers are buried by thick, cohesive slabs.  This observation from our Slate River corridor shows the nasty, fist-hard facets below a 3-foot slab, a classic strong over weak Persistent Slab setup.  Even though collapsing and cracking are infrequent, this poor snowpack structure demands your respect.  There is no shortage of recent natural or human-triggered avalanches to highlight current conditions' dangerous avalanche size and sensitivity.  The prudent choice would be to avoid avalanche terrain highlighted by the Persistent Slab distribution rose. 

The increase in wind on Monday has exacerbated the hazard by drifting snow at upper elevations.  This avalanche on Whetstone likely resulted from significant wind loading on Monday as it was not present on Sunday afternoon.  The threat of natural avalanches will continue as long as the wind drifts snow.  Even though most drifting occurred on the east half of the compass, you could encounter a thick, sensitive drift on more windward aspects from cross-loading.  The Wind Slab problem highlights the places most likely to find recent drifting, but not all the places.  Carefully read terrain, regardless of aspect, to identify and avoid recently drifted features.

The Storm Slab problem was removed from products today as wind-sheltered sunny slopes are not the most likely place to trigger an avalanche.  Recent snowpack tests suggest the inconsistencies in the storm snow have largely quieted down in sheltered terrain that lacks persistent weak layers.  Although less likely, it's not impossible to trigger an avalanche in the recent storm snow in a sheltered location.