"We`re very concerned here," said Scott Toepfer, a weather andavalanche forecaster at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center."This could be a troublesome winter for backcountry riders. So fararound the Front Range, a lot of people are getting caught; a lot ofsnow workers are spooked."
Last week`s arctic freeze and subsequent thaw over the weekendcreated dangerous avalanche conditions this week that, while lesseningslowly now, the CAIC forecasters think could last for some time,Toepfer said.
"Last weekend, we had a nice little storm come in, 6 to 8inches of snow, and a lot of wind," Toepfer said of the Front Range."But because the foundation is so weak, it just couldn`t support even 6to 8 inches of new snow, especially when you throw in those 30 to 40mile per hour winds, so the snowpack just got crushed. So we had a lotof avalanches."
Meanwhile, snow conditions at Eldora Mountain Resort are goodenough to open the Corona Bowl this weekend, said spokesman Rob Linde,which is early since the resort usually aims to open it by Christmas.
"The thing that`s been very helpful is the cold temperatures,"Linde said. "We`ve had very cold temps that have allowed us to makesnow on the back side, and conditions have been optimal for making alot of high-quality snow."
With the opening of Corona, Eldora will increase its open expert terrain to 35 percent.
Linde added that because of the early season snow, Eldora has had to manage its West Ridge and other steep terrain.
"There`s up to 10 inches of new snow, then you add in 30 to 60mile per hour winds, so no matter what time of year, that`s going tocreate slabs," said Eli Helmuth, an Estes Park-based mountain guide whowrites regular conditions reports on backcountry ski and ice climbingareas in Rocky Mountain National Park. Last Thursday, as Helmuth waschecking conditions in lower-angle areas in the park -- generally,slides happen on slopes exceeding 30 degrees -- he watched straightlines crack 30 feet out from under his skis.
"If you have cracks, if you have snow collapsing under you, these are really obvious signs that it`s unstable," Helmuth said.
If it seems like conditions are worse than usual, Toepfer saidthat`s because for the past few years, Front Range skiers have beenspoiled with good early-season snow. Helmuth added that it`s early forgood skiing, too.
"The reality is that when you look at the charts, it`sprimarily March, April, May," that backcountry ski conditions aretraditionally good here, Helmuth said.
"Everybody`s waxing their skis and getting psyched for the backcountry really early."
Since Tuesday -- when a snowboarder was caught in a slide nearLoveland Pass -- the avalanche danger has been slowly moderating,dropping from "high" to "considerable" for the mountains just west ofBoulder, said Toepfer.
"It might be a long time before we see a low avalanche dangeraround here again," he said. "We`ve got a bunch of buffaloes standingon top of the weak foundation. It`s stressed right now, but if you cangive the snowpack enough time, that stress lessens."
