Spring is here, the days are long, and the mountains are calling. But before you head out chasing corn or bagging a last few turns on high peaks across Colorado, know this: warm weather doesn’t mean safe travel.
As of yesterday, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center has bumped avalanche danger to MODERATE above treeline statewide. A stretch of warm, dry weather that’s heating up the snowpack while overnight temperatures aren’t dropping enough to firm things back up is leading to this increase in risk, shrinking your safe travel window fast.
If you’re heading out, go early and plan to be off exposed terrain before midday. Pay attention to what the snow is telling you. If you’re sinking past your ankles into wet, slushy snow, get off the steep stuff. That’s the mountain giving you a pretty clear message.
The trickiest spots right now are north-facing slopes at the highest elevations, where dry snow is still in transition. Even a small slide can ruin your day in a hurry if it sweeps you into rocks or sends you off a cliff edge.
Speaking of cliff edges, cornices are quietly becoming one of the bigger hazards out there. Warm temperatures are eating away at their structural integrity and they can fracture much farther back from the edge than you’d expect. Give them a wide buffer from above and don’t linger in the runout zones below.
The mountains are absolutely worth visiting right now as long as you bring your brain along with your sunscreen. Conditions can go from “hero corn” to “sketchy slush” in a matter of hours and the hazards don’t take the afternoon off even when the vibes say otherwise. Check the forecast at avalanche.org (national forecast) or the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (Colorado only) before every outing.
