Anthracite Mesa

I did not encounter any avalanche problems in this north-facing below-treeline terrain Friday afternoon.  Like everywhere else weak basal facets are present and waiting for the current storm to start forming a slab above to create an avalanche problem.  I would expect about 10 inches of snow to be enough to make human-triggered avalanches likely in sheltered terrain with basal facets (north half of the compass).

North and northeast aspects of this area have a little more than a foot of snow on the ground.  The weak basal facets are capped with a soft crust and about 8 inches of soft snow above.  No avalanche problems were present Friday afternoon, but there is a similarly poor structure like the rest of the forecast zone on northerly slopes.  There is enough coverage across this terrain to cause problems once more snowfall accumulates above.