Gunnison

The cost per snowflake has apparently become too high, with another storm having passed through the area and again leaving the mountains with little change. We did however receive a nice helping of northerly winds overnight, with 11,000ft winds averaging in the teens and 12,000ft winds reaching into the 40 mph range. Most avalanche terrain remains generally safe from avalanche hazards. Normal caution is recommended while staying alert for slopes that could produce a shallow sluff or an isolated wind slab. 

If you search hard enough, you may be able to find around 1" of new snow from the recent storm. While overnight northerly winds averaged in the teens on the 11,000ft CBMR weather station, and 40mph on the new 12,600ft Carbonate Hill weather station. A few new thin and hard wind slabs are certainly possible for some mountain areas around the forecast area, but in general, it doesn't appear we received enough snow for a change in avalanche conditions. The uneventful weather of recent has left us with a LOW avalanche danger rating and "Normal Caution" travel advice. Observers have still been reporting the occasional collapse or shooting crack on some previously wind-loaded terrain features. While it would be unexpected, we can't completely rule out the rare chance of producing a slab avalanche on a similar terrain feature, or if that wind-loaded terrain feature was unsupported above rocks and cliffs below. The weak and unconsolidated snowpack at near and below treeline elevations has also allowed for some minor sluffs to occur. We don't have enough snow out there for these sluffs to pose much of a hazard, but they can still produce moving snow and this is something to be aware of. 

The CBAC Team wishes everyone a happy Thanksgiving Holiday and we want to make you aware of a couple of free events coming up this weekend. On Saturday we'll have our first Trailhead Day at Kebler Pass and on Sunday the 2nd Fireside Chat for the season. Check them out!