Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

No new avalanches were reported in this region on Saturday and only small dry loose were reported on Sunday.

On Friday, a helicopter landing on a slope remotely triggered several size 2 persistent slab avalanches on a north aspect in the alpine south of Golden. The avalanches failed on the crust which was down 80 to 110 cm in that location.

5 to 15 cm of recent snow overlies predominantly crusty surfaces, except for northerly aspects at upper elevations. The snow surface will become moist at low elevations with rising freezing levels.

A widespread crust with sugary facets above is down 40 to 110 cm. Steep or convex terrain features with a shallow or thin to thick snowpack at treeline and above are the most likely places to trigger this layer. However, when a thick surface crust is present, human triggering this layer is unlikely.

The bottom of the snowpack is generally weak and faceted, with the potential to produce very large avalanches.

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy with trace amounts of new snow. 15 to 30 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -8°C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 15 to 30 km/h west alpine wind. Freezing level rising to 1800 m.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest alpine wind.  Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with up to 15 cm of new snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest alpine wind.  Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
• When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
• Conditions may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.
• Cornice failure may trigger large avalanches.
• Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.