Avalanche forecast

Gunnison

Crested Butte Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

We are now well settled into LOW Avalanche Danger. In the big picture view, there are generally safe avalanche conditions. Zoom into the individual slope scale, and you are reminded to watch for unstable snow on isolated terrain features. These would include extreme terrain features and northerly facing slopes that are very steep or unsupported due to a cliff or steep rollover below. Yesterday skiers reported small loose snow avalanches on steep, shaded slopes, and Friday a skier triggered a small slab on an unsupported slope with the resulting avalanche pushing into trees below. 

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    A patchy distribution of wind drifted slabs on top of old, sugary snow exists on some high elevation, northerly-facing terrain features. Triggering a slab avalanche that breaks at the ground is unlikely, but we can't 100% rule out this potential avalanche problem. Continue to be aware of this avalanche problem in terrain where you find thick, dense snow overlying a continuous layer of weak, faceted snow on the ground.

    High northerly aspect? ☑. Smooth ground cover? ☑. Weak snow on the ground? ☑. Windloaded slab? ☑. Here's what it looks like when you've found the ingredients for our current persistent slab problem.

Avalanche Discussion

This video is a good quick watch. It covers a few highlights about current conditions and looking ahead. Here are a few key points to note in the video: The isolated nature of finding both a slab and a continuous weak layer below, steep unsupported start zones, and looking ahead as slabs facet away to become more of a small loose snow avalanche problem. 

For the month of November, we have observed very little slab avalanche activity that has released on persistent weak layers. Almost all the avalanche activity has consisted of small surface slabs that released during periods of wind-loading and accumulating snowfall. Digging into the snowpack this month, observers have been able to find slopes with Persistent Slab Snowpack structure, a slab over faceted snow from October. The Persistent Slab avalanche problem has trended towards unreactive. Though we cannot 100% rule out one of these slabs releasing in extreme terrain or those steep unsupported start zones. 

Mark your calendars! December 4th is CBAC's Virtual Avalanche Awareness Night.  A party and educational event, the likes of which you've never seen before.

Regions covered