Warmer temperatures bring marked increase of wet-snow avalanche danger in Colorado

This weekend the cold air will retreat north and east and we are expecting above normal temperatures with mostly sunny conditions leading to an uptick in wet avalanche activity. With the potential for sizable wet avalanches due to the amount of wet, cold snow from recent storms. 

Heavy snow and strong winds have created dangerous avalanche conditions for much of the area and Colorado Avalanche Information Center warns that large avalanches would be easy to trigger.  Most the of the northern and central mountains sit at considerable danger (level 3 out of 5) which means should you trigger an avalanche the size will be large and could potentially be deadly. Adding fuel to the fire is that more snow is expected Thursday through Friday morning. The additional snowfall will lead to more dangerous avalanche conditions across Summit County and the Northern Front Range Mountains. 

The CAIC shared this image showing a recent avalanche to illustrate Colorado's current avalanche danger. With the current snowpack conditions the CAIC is seeing avalanches breaking wide and deep that could have massive consequences if triggered. Southerly facing slopes do provide safer riding options, particularly at lower elevations, but you still want to be cautious. 

Anyone traveling in the backcountry should always carry proper safety gear, including an avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel, and know how to use those tools. Daily avalanche forecasts can be found at Avalanche.State.Co.us/