Snow cover remains thin in the Abajo mountains ranging from about 16" in lower North Creek to up to 3' on sheltered, northerly aspects around Cooley Pass. Wind exposed terrain alternates between scoured and wind drifted, while most southerly aspects have less than a foot of snow.

A poor snowpack structure has developed on shady slopes where loose, weak, sugary snow has formed a persistent weak layer under a slab of stronger snow. This poor snowpack structure leads to unstable avalanche conditions. In wind drifted areas, the problem is more pronounced. Wind drifted snow creates unstable slabs and adds more stress to buried weak layers. For now, the problem is quite isolated due to low snow coverage, and you'd have to work pretty hard to get into an area where you could trigger an avalanche, especially on a snowmobile. Skiers will find it easier tio access these nooks and crannies. In general, suspect steep, northerly facing slopes, especially if wind drifted. Human triggered avalanches are possible in these areas. If the mid-week storm pans out, expect a corresponding rise in avalanche danger as the underlying, weak snowpack gets overloaded.

Photo illustrates strong snow with a slab over weak snow. Everything below the brown dust layer is weak, sugary, facted snow.

Conditons remain thin with uneven coverage. Note, however, areas with wind drifted snow on the leeward sides of ridge crests and gully walls. Wind drifts are recognizable by their smooth, rounded appearance, and cracking is a sign of instability.

Thin coverage on south and westerly facing slopes.