With the warming weather and melting snow, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) was hoping to see a stable spring snowpack heading into June. Unfortunately that hasn’t happened and 40 avalanche were reported over 7-days last week.
Well over half of those avalanches were Wet Slabs, or the release of a generally moist or wet cohesive layer of snow when the flow of liquid water weakens the the bond between the slab and the surface below (whether that’s snow or ground). These slides most often occur during prolonged warming events and/or rain-on-snow events.
With the risk of avalanches still being strong in several areas of the state, CAIC is recommending heading into the mountains early and getting off early (by 11am). The avalanche danger in the Southern Mountains especially in the Sneffels Range, in areas around Telluride, Silverton, west of Lake City, and the Weimanuche Wilderness is currently at a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger, level 3 of 5.
Large and dangerous Wet Slab avalanches are possible over the next few days, so travel on and under steep snow covered slopes that face north and northwest should be avoided. Wet Slab avalanches can run deep below the treeline elevation band, so keep overhead hazards in mind.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center will continue to update the avalanche forecast until conditions stabilize. Make sure you check the forecast before heading into the backcountry.
