Over two feet of new snow since Christmas is adding complex new problems to Summit County’s snowpack.
“Although the chances for natural avalanches will diminish over the coming days, the snowpack is on a knife edge, so don’t be the extra load that tips it over the edge,” the Colorado Avalanche Information Center writes in its forecast for today.
Danger is considerable at every elevation on most aspects in Summit and the Vail area, including Loveland Pass, the Tenmile Range, Gore Range, Vail Pass and Mayflower Gulch.
Since Christmas the CAIC confirms 68 avalanches statewide, most of them reported by backcountry travelers.
One slide briefly caught a skier on the east face of Peak 5 on Dec. 31. The skier says he was never carried or buried.
Another, earlier slide, on Mount Trelease east of Summit, highlights the trickiest problem right now – remote triggering.
“It was triggered from very low-angled terrain below the steeper area and ran down into the trees where the debris obliterated old tracks. Many similar slopes are primed for similar avalanches,” the CAIC writes.
Another storm tonight into tomorrow, Jan. 2, promises at least several inches in Summit and up to 20 inches in the Park Range.
The best advice from the CAIC right now: Read the forecast, tread cautiously, and keep it low angle.