Abajos

The Abajo Range picked up three inches of snow on Tuesday morning. Strong winds from all directions have created shallow, sensitive slabs of wind-drifted snow on all aspects. These will be most prominent on Northerly aspects.

Although increasingly unlikely, human-triggered avalanches failing on a buried persistent weak layer remain possible on steep slopes that face W-N-E-SE. The danger is most prominent on steep, northerly aspects. You are most likely to trigger an avalanche in thin snowpack areas. You can reduce your risk by avoiding steep, rocky areas and slopes with complex terrain features

Weather

Temperatures are cold this morning, but plenty of sunshine will help to warm things up, and mountain temperatures should warm to around 32 degrees. The strong winds will start to back off this morning, and will blow out of the NW at 5-10 MPH. Winds will shift and blow out of the WSW this afternoon. Temperatures will trend upward throughout the week with highs expected to peak around 10 degrees above normal by Friday afternoon. Winds will also be on the increase each day ahead of our next storm, which will impact the mountains this weekend.

General Conditons

Three inches of new snow provides a nice little refresh to the mountains. Strong winds blew all over the map, and slabs of wind-drifted snow have formed on all aspects. With only three inches of new snow, these drifts will be shallow, but they will remain sensitive to the weight of a skier or rider again today. Backcountry travelers should look for and avoid any slopes that have been recently loaded. The likelihood of triggering an avalanche on a deeply buried PWL continues to decrease, but it is still possible. We are now in a low likelihood, high consequence scenario. If you are stepping out into avalanche terrain, evaluate each slope on an individual basis. Aim to ride in areas with a deep snowpack. Avoid steep, rocky terrain, thinner areas along slope margins, and steep, blind rollovers or convexities. These are all likely trigger points.

NWS forecast for the Abajo Mountains.

Snow totals and temps at Buckboard Flat (8924')

Snow totals and temps at Camp Jackson (8858')

This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.