Front Range

Parts of the northern Front Range are on track to see about ten inches of snow accompanied by intense winds by Wednesday morning. You can trigger avalanches in recently drifted snow, but the bigger hazard is avalanches breaking on buried weak layers within the snowpack. As the slabs above these weak layers continue to grow and connect they could be triggered from below or a distance. Look for and avoid smooth, rounded pillows of snow just below ridgelines and in cross-loaded terrain features like gullies. Cracking in the new snow and audible collapses are obvious signs of instability, avoid steep slopes where you see these signs. Easterly-facing slopes are the most dangerous but cross-loaded slopes that face north or south are also suspect. You can find safer travel on lower-angle slopes and in areas sheltered from the wind.