Skies are cloudy, westerly winds are averaging 10-15 mph along ridge tops, and 10,000' temps are in the high 20's. A weakening storm system is moving through the area. Today we'll see cloudy skies and maybe a trace of snow. WSW winds will continue in the light to moderate range, and high temps will be in the mid 30's. Tomorrow will be sunny and warm. Next chance for precip looks like mid-week.
It's been quite a week for spring skiing and riding in the La Sals. Last Sunday's 8"-10" made for excellent dry snow conditions on upper elevation northerly aspects. Folks have been taking advantage of the mostly stable conditions, and tracks are appearing in places not visited all winter. On Thursday, Mark Sevenoff and I climbed a high peak and made a steep north facing descent. We found mostly stable snow, but we were able to get some loose snow sluffs moving as the slope steepened beyond 40 degrees. We also noted a few isolated wind drifts. Periods of strong sunshine during the week have crusted over most surfaces, and you'll have to go high to find dry snow now.
Note the rollerballs off of the ski tracks. By noon, things were definitely moistening up.
Winds at 11,000 feet on
Abajo Peak (11,330') about 45 miles south.