Avalanche forecast

Gunnison

Crested Butte Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

You can trigger an avalanche on leeward features at upper elevations where you encounter stiff, wind-deposited snow.  In some isolated locations, avalanches could be large enough to bury you.  You can reduce your chances of triggering an avalanche by sticking to sheltered slopes and picking terrain with soft surface conditions.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Westerly winds over the past several days have drifted low-density snow onto the east half of the compass forming hard Wind Slabs.  You are most likely to encounter a sensitive Wind Slab above treeline, but you could also find wind-drifted deposits near treeline just less frequently.  Stiff and hollow-sounding snow beneath ridgelines, below cornices, or behind terrain breaks indicate potentially unstable snow.  Faceted grains underneath these Wind Slabs and the below-normal air temperatures will likely keep this problem lingering for several days.  Watch the adjacent video for a great visual and verbal description of the current Wind Slab avalanche problem.

Avalanche Discussion

Observations over the past few days paint a straightforward picture of current avalanche concerns; this past week westerly winds slowly built stiff Wind Slabs predominately on the east half of the compass at upper elevations.  Human-triggered avalanches occurred on Tuesday(Mount Baldy), Thursday(Galena Mountain), and Friday(Mount Baldy).  Avalanches have been generally small, but evidence from the triggered avalanche on Friday suggests that some isolated slopes could produce a large avalanche big enough to bury or injure a person.  Slopes with a large fetch, like the one in the recent video, can produce bigger avalanches because the wind has more terrain to gather snow.  You can reduce your risk of triggering an avalanche by avoiding classic leeward terrain features where the wind deposits snow.  Watch the video and inspect the photos in the media gallery to see examples of leeward terrain features where you are most likely to encounter a Wind Slab problem.  You can also pay attention to surface conditions and choose slopes with soft surfaces rather than the stiff, hard surfaces associated with wind-deposited snow and the current Wind Slab problem. 

The Northwest Mountains are more likely to have sensitive Wind Slabs due to more snowfall a week ago and thus had more snow available for transport by the wind.  Fewer observations have come in from the Southeast Mountains due to lower snowfall and more challenging over-snow travel conditions and less data is available on conditions in the high terrain to the east of Crested Butte.

Regions covered