Avalanche danger has improved since last weekend, but a skier or sledder could still trigger a large avalanche in specific terrain.
Confidence
Fair - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Saturday: Light snow. Light to moderate SW winds. Temperatures increasing. An inversion (warmer temperatures at ridge top than in the valleys) may form.Sunday: Light snow. Light winds. Temperatures may start to rise at all elevations.Monday: Light snow. Light winds. Temperatures continue to rise. A sharp rise in freezing level to around 1800 m is forecast around lunchtime.
Avalanche Summary
Avalanche activity has diminished, but it would still be possible for the weight of a person or sled to trigger a persistent slab, with big consequences.
Snowpack Summary
Surface layers consist of variable wind slabs and dry snow. Below this you may find a hard rain crust. In the Golden area this crust exists up to around 1600m, whereas in the south it is up to 2000m or higher. In total, last week's storm produced slabs up to 1m thick in the north of the region and around 60cm thick in the south. This slab sits on the mid-November weak layer (surface hoar, facets, and/or a crust). Below this you will likely find a 15-20cm thick layer of sugary facets, which is sitting on a solid rain crust from early November. The reactivity of these layers may be slowly diminishing, but they still warrant cautious consideration. Snowpack tests are getting hard pops and drops results, indicating the potential for large propagation and large avalanches.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.