Gothic and Washington Gulch

Wet Loose avalanche concerns remain a minor threat on most slopes and would generally involve the snowfall from last week.  The crust below remained frozen on all the terrain we traveled through 130 pm.  I suspect a few hot features near and below treeline could lose support late in the day.  It may take two days of warm temps for the underlying crust to break down and give loose avalanches access to the entire snowpack.  Persistent Slab issues in the upper snowpack have been quiet recently, but snowpack tests suggest a few slopes may continue to pose a threat where you encounter a slab above faceted crusts on northerly slopes.

A handful of recent loose avalanches around the area. Most appear to have failed in the past 48 hours.

A solid freeze overnight provided safe travel conditions for much of the day through the early afternoon.  The April Fool's meltdown crust remained supportive to skis even on below treeline sunny slopes at noon.  The wind and high clouds helped tone down loose avalanche concerns at mid and upper elevations.  

In the afternoon, I dug a few holes near Elkton to check snowpack structures on east and northeast slopes.  An east slope (11,000 feet) around 130 PM had 6 inches of wet snow resting on a thick, supportive-to-boots crust.  Wet Loose avalanches seemed possible here.  A northeast slope (11,600 feet) had a moist surface but no wet loose concerns.  The lingering Persistent Slab issue in the upper snowpack produced moderate propagating results on the April Fool's Crust about a foot below the surface (see image).  I would continue to assess the upper snowpack on northerly slopes at mid and upper elevations where you encounter a slab above a crust, as there could be a few slopes capable of producing a slab avalanche.