Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Regions
South Rockies.
Avalanches are most likely in alpine terrain where the snow feels stiff or slabby, especially on wind-affected slopes.
Confidence
Low - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY NIGHT: Increasing cloud, light wind, alpine temperatures drop to -15 C.SUNDAY: Mainly cloudy, strong wind out of the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.MONDAY: Cloudy, moderate wind out of the west, alpine high temperatures around -6 C.TUESDAY: Flurries with 1-3 cm of snow, strong wind out of the west, alpine high temperatures around -6 C.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported in the region. Small wind slabs have been reported in neighboring regions. If you have been out, please submit any observations to the Mountain Information Network MIN.
Snowpack Summary
Early season conditions prevail in this region with roughly 30-90 cm of snow in alpine areas and much less at lower elevations. Surface conditions may range from soft power, hard wind slab, and some sun crusts. Isolated pockets of stiff wind slab likely exist on leeward slopes. The bottom half of the snowpack is composed of weak sugary snow and crusts. This layer has not been active, but terrain features like smooth alpine bowls with variable snowpack depths are still suspect given this snowpack structure.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.