Northern Mountains This is Spencer in the Colorado Avalanche Information Center at 3:30 pm, Wednesday, March 23 2005. DISCUSSION Today's snowfall has been showery and patchy but intense at times. Wolf Creek Pass had 6" inches of snow by 2:00 pm. Halsted, at Loveland Pass, complained about being covered in graupel after a 7 min lift ride. Showers will continue, but the storm is not packing the expected punch. The storm has tracked further north and west than projected, and a drier slot is now downstream, over AZ. The southwestern slopes of the San Juans, West Elks, Grand Mesa, and Steamboat Zone are still favored, but it will be intense showers rather than widespread snowfall. The weather remains unsettled and snowy into the weekend. Northern Mountains Wed Night: Cloudy, snow, 1-4", Steamboat zone 3-6". Winds W/10-20. Lows 12-22. Thursday: Mostly cloudy, morning snow 0-3". Winds SW/10-20. Highs 20-30. Thurs Night: Cloudy, snow 0-3". Winds S/5-15. Lows 15-25 SNOWPACK Tender slabs exist in all mountain areas, created by winds and snowfall over the past week. You can find the slabs, or pockets of slabby snow, on most aspects near and above treeline. Below treeline, pockets of drifted snow can be found around terrain features and in clearings. Use extra caution in steep terrain and avoid wind-drifted slopes and gullies. Triggered releases are possible from a distance or from below steep slopes. With a CONSIDERABLE danger climbing towards HIGH, consider carefully where you are, and the terrain around and above you. Very good route finding and terrain management is required for safe travel today. In the N mtns, you can find thick, sensitive windslabs on N to E to S to SW aspects near and above treeline. The size and depth of natural, triggered, and controlled avalanches is increasing, and 5-10 foot deep avalanches that are hundreds of feet wide are now occurring. The frequency of remotely triggered avalanches is on the rise. Rather than riding down a slope, and having the avalanche break above you, remotely triggered avalanches are triggered from a distance. Maybe you are on flats at the bottom of a slope, and the snowpack collapses. The collapse spreads outwards, up the slope, and triggers an avalanche that sweeps down on top of you. Yesterday, NW of A-Basin, two sizable avalanches were triggered from below on a SE aspect of Tenderfoot Ridge. These were 4 to 6 feet deep and 200 to 600 feet wide. Most of the other remotely triggered slides have occurred on E-S aspects. The backcountry avalanche danger ratings: N mtns: Steamboat zone: Above 9000' the danger is CONSIDERABLE and headed towards HIGH with snowfall tonight; below 9000' the danger is MODERATE, and expect pockets of CONSIDERABLE as the snow accumulates. Front Range and Summit/Vail zones: near and above treeline on N-E-S-SW aspects the danger is CONSIDERABLE with pockets of HIGH. The danger is MODERATE with pockets of CONSIDERABLE on other aspects and below treeline. A big thanks to everyone who sent in observations recently. More and better information coming in leads to better forecasts going out! S Logan Central Mountains This is Spencer in the Colorado Avalanche Information Center at 3:30 pm, Wednesday, March 23 2005. DISCUSSION Today's snowfall has been showery and patchy but intense at times. Wolf Creek Pass had 6" inches of snow by 2:00 pm. Halsted, at Loveland Pass, complained about being covered in graupel after a 7 min lift ride. Showers will continue, but the storm is not packing the expected punch. The storm has tracked further north and west than projected, and a drier slot is now downstream, over AZ. The southwestern slopes of the San Juans, West Elks, Grand Mesa, and Steamboat Zone are still favored, but it will be intense showers rather than widespread snowfall. The weather remains unsettled and snowy into the weekend. Central Mountains Wed Night: Cloudy, snow, 2-6", 3-8" Grand Mesa, West Elks. Winds SW/10-20. Lows 10-20. Thursday: Mostly cloudy, showers, 0-3", 2-4" Grand Mesa, West Elks. SW/10-20. Highs 20-30. Thurs Night: Cloudy, snow 0-3". Winds S/5-15. Lows 15-25. SNOWPACK Tender slabs exist in all mountain areas, created by winds and snowfall over the past week. You can find the slabs, or pockets of slabby snow, on most aspects near and above treeline. Below treeline, pockets of drifted snow can be found around terrain features and in clearings. Use extra caution in steep terrain and avoid wind-drifted slopes and gullies. Triggered releases are possible from a distance or from below steep slopes. With a CONSIDERABLE danger climbing towards HIGH, consider carefully where you are, and the terrain around and above you. Very good route finding and terrain management is required for safe travel today. In the C the tender slabs are getting thicker and more touchy as snow falls and drifts. The snowpack does not like rapid change, and heavy snowfall and strong winds are the perfect combination to make the snowpack really grumpy. It was already touchy, and the additional load of new snow may be all it takes to get the snowpack to explode into an avalanche. How grumpy the snowpack gets will depend on how much snow falls and drifts. Grand Mesa and the West Elks will see the fastest and deepest accumulations, and therefore the most rapid increase in the avalanche danger. In all the mountains the snow will be showery, and rates and amounts could vary quite a bit, meaning that the avalanche danger could vary considerably as well. The backcountry avalanche danger ratings: C mtns: Near and above treeline on NW-NE-SE-S aspects the danger is CONSIDERABLE with pockets of HIGH, and MODERATE with pockets of CONSIDERABLE on aspects and below treeline. The danger will be increasing where local accumulations of snow exceed 6 inches. A big thanks to everyone who sent in observations recently. More and better information coming in leads to better forecasts going out! S Logan Southern Mountains This is Spencer in the Colorado Avalanche Information Center at 3:30 pm, Wednesday, March 23 2005. DISCUSSION Today's snowfall has been showery and patchy but intense at times. Wolf Creek Pass had 6" inches of snow by 2:00 pm. Halsted, at Loveland Pass, complained about being covered in graupel after a 7 min lift ride. Showers will continue, but the storm is not packing the expected punch. The storm has tracked further north and west than projected, and a drier slot is now downstream, over AZ. The southwestern slopes of the San Juans, West Elks, Grand Mesa, and Steamboat Zone are still favored, but it will be intense showers rather than widespread snowfall. The weather remains unsettled and snowy into the weekend. Southern Mountains Wed Night: Cloudy, snow, 4-8". Winds WSW/20-30 G40s. Lows 15-25. Thursday: Cloudy, morning snow, 2-4". Winds SW/10-20. Highs 20-30. Thurs Night: Mostly cloudy, showers 1-3" Winds SW10-20. Lows 15-25. SNOWPACK Tender slabs exist in all mountain areas, created by winds and snowfall over the past week. You can find the slabs, or pockets of slabby snow, on most aspects near and above treeline. Below treeline, pockets of drifted snow can be found around terrain features and in clearings. Use extra caution in steep terrain and avoid wind-drifted slopes and gullies. Triggered releases are possible from a distance or from below steep slopes. With a CONSIDERABLE danger climbing towards HIGH, consider carefully where you are, and the terrain around and above you. Very good route finding and terrain management is required for safe travel today. In the C & S the tender slabs are getting thicker and more touchy as snow falls and drifts. The snowpack does not like rapid change, and heavy snowfall and strong winds are the perfect combination to make the snowpack really grumpy. It was already touchy, and the additional load of new snow may be all it takes to get the snowpack to explode into an avalanche. How grumpy the snowpack gets will depend on how much snow falls and drifts. The southern San Juans will see the fastest and deepest accumulations, and therefore the most rapid increase in the avalanche danger. In all the mountains the snow will be showery, and rates and amounts could vary quite a bit, meaning that the avalanche danger could vary considerably as well. The backcountry avalanche danger ratings: San Juans: Near and above treeline on NW-NE-SE-S aspects the danger is trending to HIGH, and towards CONSIDERABLE on other aspects and below treeline. Wolf Creek Pass area: the danger CONSIDERABLE at all elevations A big thanks to everyone who sent in observations recently. More and better information coming in leads to better forecasts going out! S Logan