Gunnison

The biggest concern is triggering avalanches in the new and drifting storm snow. Strong, variable and unusual easterly winds created wind-drifted slabs on many exposed slopes at all elevations. Look for slabs in atypical areas like west-facing terrain, easterly-facing slopes below treeline, and on the lee side of most terrain features.

Sunshine poking through the clouds, and warming temperatures could moisten lower-elevation sunny slopes enough to produce loose wet avalanches sliding on slick underlying crusts. These could grow large enough to become a threat in continuously steep terrain.

Lastly, there is a small chance of triggering a very large avalanche on deeply buried weak layers in wind-affected, shallow and variable snowpack areas. Minimize this risk by traveling where the snowpack id consistently deeper than around 6 feet.