Central Mountains This is Dale at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center at 3:35 pm, Friday, December 02, 2005. WEATHER DISCUSSION Warm, moist air blankets the CO mtns this afternoon with a strong westerly flow aloft. Currently a cold front poised at the NW corner of CO will move across the mountains this evening. It will bring a short shot of heavy snow as it crosses the mountains. Snow and winds will ease tonight after frontal passage, but still expect light snows -- a T-3" for each 12 hr period -- through the weekend. Temperatures turn colder on Saturday but these will only be tease for bitter cold temperatures expected in the middle of next week. The details: Fri night: Snow, 4-8". Winds W/10-20 G40s, stronger winds over Sawatch Range. Lows 8-18. Sat: Cloudy, light snow, 1-3". Winds W/10-20 G40s. Highs 10-20. Lows -5 to 5. Sun: Mostly cloudy, light snow, 1-3". Winds NW/15-25 G40. Highs 0-10. SNOWPACK Reports of new snow this morning: Aspen Highlands, Beaver Creek, 2 inches; Red Mtn Pass, 2.5; Aspen Mtn, 3; Crested Butte, 3.5; Monarch, 5; Vail, 5.5; Bear Lake (RMNP), 6; Winter Park, 7.5; Gothic, 8.5; Copper and Eldora, 9; and A-Basin, 13. During the day today snowfall has generally been 1-3 inches in most mountain areas, but some spots will have done better. More wind and snow tonight means more slabs. These slabs will be either soft (lower elevations) and/or hard (higher -- wind affected -- elevations). The slabs will be sensitive and prone to triggered release. Even some natural activity is expected later this afternoon and overnight, especially in the C&S mtns where old snow-layers have turned weak and sugar-like. In the N&C mtns there is also an upside-down snow cover with the recent, warmer, heavier snows perched on top of colder, lighter snows that fell earlier this week. In the last two days 25 avalanches have been reported from Berthoud and Loveland Passes, Summit County, and Vail Pass area. All occurred on steep wind-drifted slopes and gullies; most were 1-3 feet deep, though two hard slabs were up to 6 feet deep. Observers in the Cameron Pass, Loveland Pass, and Aspen areas reporting very easy to moderate shears 10-40 cm below the surface. Observers are also reporting collapsing, whumpfing, and shooting cracks, too. In the Crested Butte backcountry 4 slab avalanches reported from the past couple of days from east aspects, including 1 that was remotely triggered by a skier 150 feet away. Two days ago near Telluride a snowmobiler remotely triggered a slab avalanche on a north aspect below treeline. In the S mtns the snowcover is very thin and where old snow sits, it is also very weak. Little new snow and wind will be enough to quickly increase the avalanche danger as the only missing ingredient is the slab. With snowfall on the light side, I am backing down the backcountry avalanche danger in much of the S mtns. The most suspect terrain will be the NW-NE-E aspects where the old snow has turned to faceted, sugar-like grains. Backcountry travelers should be alert to worsening conditions and an increasing avalanche danger. Be sure to travel smart, going only one at a time when venturing out onto steeper terrain. Fresh wind-drifted slopes and gullies 35 degrees and steeper are probably best left alone. Triggered releases will become probable to even likely on steep, wind-drifted slopes and gullies. As always, carry and know how to use avalanche rescue gear, but make sure your friends are practiced and skilled. If buried, your life will be in their hands. The backcountry avalanche danger for Saturday: C mtns: The danger near & above TL CONSIDERABLE with pockets of HIGH on all aspects and elevations, though the wind-drifted N-E-S aspects will be the most suspect. Below treeline the danger will become CONSIDERABLE by afternoon. Atkins