Avalanche Forecast

A few small (size 1 to 1.5) human triggered slabs were reported on Monday, mostly failing on a 30 cm deep surface hoar layer. A few larger (size 2) human triggered slabs were reported in the Esplanade range. Explosive avalanche control produced multiple large (size 2) and one very large (size 3) deep persistent slab avalanches along steep rocky ridges at treeline. On Saturday, a skier triggered a size 2.5 avalanche on a low angle alpine slope near Golden. This avalanche had a 1 m crown and ran on the facets near the bottom of the snowpack.

10 to 20 cm of settled storm snow can be found in sheltered areas, while open terrain has been wind affected. A rain crust can be found up to 2000 m in most parts of the region.

There are two concerning weak layers in the top meter of the snowpack. The first is a layer of surface hoar from early January and the second is a layer of surface hoar, facets, and a crust from December. Both these layers are most concerning at treeline and above. There is also a layer of large facets at the bottom of the snowpack that continues to produce avalanches and will likely persist for a prolonged period of time.

In general, the snowpack is shallow and weak.

Tuesday night

Cloudy, no precipitation, 20 km/h west wind, treeline temperatures drop to -8 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy, no precipitation, 30 to 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -6 °C.

Mostly cloudy, isolated flurries with 1 to 5 cm of snow, 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -6 °C.

Mostly sunny skies, 30 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
• Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
• Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
• Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices at this time.