Aspen

A Special Avalanche Advisory is in effect from Friday evening through Sunday for the Elk Mountains. A winter storm will dramatically change conditions, making it easy for backcountry travelers to trigger dangerous avalanches this weekend.

You can easily trigger an avalanche where you find more than about a foot of snow on steep slopes. Most of these avalanches will be small, but in areas that get the most snow or additional wind-drifted snow, they can grow large enough to bury you. On northwest through north to east-facing slope near and above treeline these small avalanches could step down into deeper weak layers and bring the whole season's snowpack down on top of you. Conservative decision-making is essential this weekend. Safer travel options exist on wind-sheltered terrain where you find less than about a foot of new snow and by avoiding travel on or under steep northwest through north to east-facing slopes.