Southern San Juan

A Special Avalanche Advisory is in effect for the La Plata Mountains to Coal Bank Pass, Weminuche Wilderness, and Wolf Creek Pass to the New Mexico border. Friday night a storm brings heavy snowfall. Dangerous avalanche conditions will develop by Saturday morning and last through the weekend. You can easily trigger a large and dangerous avalanche at all elevations.

Fresh slabs of snow one to two feet thick stacked on top of a weak, problematic snowpack is the perfect recipe to trigger an avalanche large enough to bury, injure or kill you. Avalanches triggered in the storm snow can break into weak snow layers several feet deep on slopes facing west through north to southeast. The deeper the avalanche breaks, the more likely it is to span across terrain features and produce a more destructive slide. Avoid slopes steeper than about 30 degrees with around 8 inches of new snow, and without steep terrain above you. Heed the warning signs of cracking and collapsing, and stick to southerly-facing slopes below treeline for safer travel options.