Northern New Mexico

Heightened avalanche danger exists on specific terrain features at upper elevations.  On northerly, easterly, and some westerly terrain, recent snowfall and winds have built slabs at the surface on open and exposed slopes.  These slabs are sitting on top of very weak faceted snow and depth hoar, a setup that can still be reactive to human travels today.  Cracking and collapsing are indicators that you've found this strong-over-weak setup, but you may not get these obvious signs everywhere.  Take the extra time to dig down and look for this unstable snowpack structure before committing to riding avalanche terrain.

Another gorgeous day in the Northern Sangres is on the table today as we lock into into a high pressure weather pattern.  Travel conditions have improved but remain a bit challenging as you move off-trail.  This is thanks to our long December drought period, which kept lots of areas melted out prior to this last storm cycle.  In places that held snow, the nearly 40-day drought period caused widespread faceting that wasn't much of an discussion in terms of avalanche risk until the January 8th/9th storms threw a slab on top.  Storm totals ranged from 10-14 inches of mostly low-density snow, which the winds blew around quite a bit, building cohesive and reactive slabs on top of the weak faceted snowpack.  This was most notable in open and wind-exposed terrain facing East-North-Northwest, and we witnessed instability peak on Friday during the heaviest snowfall and strongest winds.  But since then, the slabs have been changing and so has our avalanche danger.  

A quick look at our season history.  A long drought in December led to widespread faceting, and that's why the avalanche danger spiked on Friday as soon as the weather threw a slab on top.  Now, a few days out from the storm, the slabs are starting to change.  Primarily, they'll be starting to deteriorate and weaken in a lot of places, and we won't see as many avalanches.Taos Avalanche Center (1/11/2026)

Today marks our second day out from the storm and last night was our second cold and clear night.  The winds have died down significantly and will be transporting far less snow than we saw over the last two days.  These weather dynamics will help with slab weakening and deterioration in many places.  By the same token, warmer temps and direct sunlight during the daytime will cause settling and stiffening of the low-density new snow.  This may cause some of the slabs out there to become more reactive.  There's a touch of uncertainty as to how this will go in terms of where different dynamics are at play, but as a general pattern we are moving towards more specific areas of concern.  To keep yourself safe, look carefully for the usual signs of instability, and definitely take the time to dig a snowpit and see how the slab is changing. Our weak layers are still very close to the surface all over the compass, so you can be sure that you'll be impacting them in your travels.  The question is: is there a cohesive enough slab on top to cause an avalanche?  If you suspect a strong-over-weak setup where you're looking to ride, strongly consider a cautious approach or completely stepping back.

Dry loose activity will be diminishing today, but keep in mind that you can still kick off small sluffs of cohesionless snow in steeper terrain that could knock you off your feet or carry you into obstacles.  These smaller surface-level avalanches can also act as triggers for larger slab avalanches, and we saw evidence of this happening during the storm on the backside of Kachina Peak (see photo below).  If you're getting out, stay focused on how the snowpack and particularly the slab is changing and don't make the mistake of going for big lines just because you haven't gotten any feedback from the snowpack yet.  Many of the larger avalanches that happened during and shortly after the storm occurred in the middle of the path, which makes it clear that conditions can change suddenly as you move up or drop in elevation.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend and stay safe!