Forecast for the Abajos Area Mountains

Eric Trenbeath
Issued by Eric Trenbeath on
Friday morning, December 24, 2021
Expect the avalanche danger to rise today and be alert to changing conditions!
The avalanche danger starts out MODERATE this morning but will likely reach CONSIDERABLE later today as fresh deposits of wind drifted snow add stress to an underlying weak snowpack. The danger will be greatest in steep, upper elevation slopes facing NW-N-E. Human triggered avalanches will become increasingly more likely throughout the day in these areas and natural avalanches may be possible.
Most low elevation, and low and mid elevation S-SW facing terrain has a generally LOW danger.
It's also still very low tide out there. Beware of rocks, stumps, and deadfall lurking beneath the surface.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
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Snow totals and temps at Buckboard Flat (8924')
Snow totals and temps at Camp Jackson (8858')
Buckboard Snotel is reporting 3" of new snow this morning and there could be as much as 6" up high. SW winds have been cranking overnight and continue to do so in the 25-35 mph range. Snow should continue throughout the day with another 3"-5" possible. An active weather pattern continues into early next week with our next chance for snow coming Sat night into Sun and then again around Tuesday. Let's hope we can squeeze some snow out of this period.
I got up to North Creek Pass last Friday and conditions are generally too thin for travel off the road. Snow depths range from about about a foot near the bottom of North Creek to around 18" near the top with up to 2' in drifted areas. Sun and wind exposed slopes are barely covered and are still showing a lot of grass.
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Who's up for some free avalanche training? Get a refresher, become better prepared for an upcoming avalanche class, or just boost your skills. Go to https://learn.kbyg.org/ and scroll down to Step 2 for a series of interactive online avalanche courses produced by the UAC.
This forecast is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.