Avalanche danger generally rises when storms deliver significant snowfall to the mountains. The problems are manifold: Fresh powder can take a few days to bond to older snow it accumulates on, leading to storm-slab avalanches; light, unconsolidated dry powder can slough down steep slopes; and the weight of new snow can overload weak layers lower in the snowpack, leading to large avalanches of both new and old snow.
Avalanche danger generally rises when storms deliver significant snowfall to the mountains. The problems are manifold: Fresh powder can take a few days to bond to older snow it accumulates on, leading to storm-slab avalanches; light, unconsolidated dry powder can slough down steep slopes; and the weight of new snow can overload weak layers lower in the snowpack, leading to large avalanches of both new and old snow.
Avalanche danger generally rises when storms deliver significant snowfall to the mountains. The problems are manifold: Fresh powder can take a few days to bond to older snow it accumulates on, leading to storm-slab avalanches; light, unconsolidated dry powder can slough down steep slopes; and the weight of new snow can overload weak layers lower in the snowpack, leading to large avalanches of both new and old snow.