ARCHIVED - This is a copy of the advisory in effect on the day of an avalanche fatality. The fatality occured on North Star mountain on the edge of Summit County, and Summit County rescue responded. Therefore the Vail and Summit County product is archived here. The information across the county line was somewhat different. Vail & Summit County Backcountry Avalanche Forecast Showing Archive Sat, Jan 8, 2022 at 7:09 AM Issued by: Jeremy Primmer Saturday - Above, Near and Below Treeline Considerable (3) Dangerous avalanche conditions. Cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making essential. Summary Recent widespread natural avalanche activity tells us that conditions are dangerous. You can easily trigger an avalanche large enough to bury or kill you, and you can trigger them from a distance or from below. New snow and high winds drifted snow onto easterly slopes. This additional load makes it easier for you to trigger a large avalanche that breaks near the ground on weak layers. Watch out for areas where the slabs from the holiday storm will be thinner, and it will be easier for you to trigger an avalanche. These include rock outcroppings, convex rollovers, and shallow spots near ridgelines and at the bottom of slopes. You can also trigger a smaller avalanche in drifted snow that steps down into these weak layers. Drifted snow will feel stiff and have rounded, smooth, and pillow-like features. You can find wind-drifted snow below ridgelines, around rock outcroppings, and on the sides of gullies. You can find safer riding on slopes less than 30 degrees that do not have steep slopes above them. Avalanche Problem Persistent Slab All aspects except S-SW All elevations except above treeline on W-NW Likely Large to Very Large What You Need to Know About These Avalanches Persistent Slab avalanches can be triggered days to weeks after the last storm. They often propagate across and beyond terrain features that would otherwise confine Wind and Storm Slab avalanches. In some cases they can be triggered remotely, from low-angle terrain or adjacent slopes. Give yourself a wide safety buffer to address the uncertainty. Avalanche Problem Wind Slab NE - SE Above and Near Treeline Possible Small - Large What You Need to Know About These Avalanches Wind Slab avalanches release naturally during wind events and can be triggered for up to a week after a wind event. They form in lee and cross-loaded terrain features. Avoid them by sticking to wind sheltered or wind scoured areas. Forecast Discussion Showing Archive Sat, Jan 8, 2022 at 8:26 AM Issued by: Ian Fowler Statewide Weather Forecast Many observers reported large destructive avalanches in the past 24 hours with various triggers. Multiple very large natural avalanches tells you that the snowpack remains dangerous today. Observers remotely triggering avalanches is a loud announcement not to travel under steep slopes. During the week, the storm that impacted the Northern Mountains deposited upward of a foot and a half of snow across most of the region, with record-setting amounts in the Steamboat Zone. The weak layer which formed at the snowpack base in November is struggling to cope with this new load. The Steamboat area, Flattop, and Park mountains have a much deeper snowpack which was better able to accommodate this new load. The Front Range and Vail/Summit Zones have a much shallower snow depth and thus could not withstand the onslaught from snow and wind. It may sound counterintuitive to you, but generally, a deep snowpack is stronger as the buried weak layers need more to trigger them and they gain strength with time. Today, the bottom line is that you will find dangerous conditions in the backcountry and can trigger a large deadly avalanche. The reports of avalanches have been deep, run a long way into the flat ground, and triggered from some unlikely places. As you travel in the backcountry, reassess what you think of as safe slopes and routes. Don't use your usual mindset and travel routes for how you move in a particular area or at a specific time of year. Adjust your terrain habits for the conditions. Travel carefully on low-angle slopes and giving yourself a wide margin for error.