Avalanche forecast

Gunnison

Crested Butte Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Generally safe avalanche conditions will be found this morning thanks to another night with below-freezing temperatures. The cloud forecast may slow the warming process this morning. Eventually, the warming temperatures should soften snow surfaces and may create specific terrain features that develop loose wet avalanche conditions. Keep an eye on the depth of the wet snow as those snow surfaces soften. Otherwise, have a great time out there enjoying the spring conditions, and happy hunting on your search for soft snow. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Multiple nights of good overnight freezes are limiting wet avalanche concerns. You can expect frozen snow surfaces this morning. The best turns will probably be found when you find an inch or two of soft snow on the surface. By the time you are sinking up to your boot tops into wet snow, the potential loose wet avalanche problem will be growing in size. If you find yourself sinking deeper into a wet and unsportive snowpack that's a far worse sign and you may have found an isolated area to trigger a large wet slab avalanche. Any wet avalanche problems that develop today, are expected to primarily be at below treeline elevations. The avalanche problem is expected to be more isolated near treeline, to just sunny wind-sheltered locations. Obvious signs of wet loose avalanches include rollerballs, pinwheels, or if you start sinking deep into a saturated snowpack. Move to colder aspects or lower-angle terrain if the snow gets hot and mushy. 

    4/6: A recent Wet Loose avalanche on an east aspect below treeline from Cement Creek. This avalanche likely ran on 4/5. This avalanche entrained enough debris to bury you and ran through numerous trees.

Avalanche Discussion

Thanks to colder weather since last weekend's hot blowout, my sweat glands are recovering just like the snowpack. Upper elevations have remained below freezing for a couple of days now, while lower elevations are seeing good overnight freezes, followed by above freezing temperatures in the afternoon. Conditions are arriving at a fairly normal spring setup. After each night with a good freeze, the avalanche conditions will be generally safe during the morning. As temperatures climb above freezing, the travel advice will tell you to keep an eye out for specific terrain that develops a wet avalanche problem. LOW danger is expected to prevail at all elevations tomorrow thanks to colder air pushing in overnight and Friday's high temperatures landing near or below freezing in the mountains.

The Wet Slab avalanche problem was dropped in today's forecast. The little bit of discussion around wet slabs has been lumped into the loose wet avalanche problem. Essentially if you find yourself sinking deeply into a wet and unsportive snowpack you may have found one of the isolated areas that could produce a large wet slab. Otherwise, any wet avalanche problems that develop today are expected to be small. There are fewer areas where a small loose wet avalanche could gouge deeply into the snowpack or trigger a wet slab. Steep, hot slopes filled with rocks and a generally variable shallow snowpack may be one of those areas where a small avalanche could gouge deeper and grow in size. 

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