The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has received numerous reports of avalanches in Summit County and the Front Range, including a dangerous remote-triggered avalanche, following a wave of fresh snow.

The avalanche danger in Summit County and the Front Range was moderate as of Monday, Nov. 11, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecast. Avalanche officials are warning that there is a persistent slab avalanche problem in the Tenmile and Gore ranges in Summit County.

“A break from snowfall is resulting in a decrease in avalanche danger throughout the Northern Mountains,” Colorado avalanche officials wrote in the forecast. “The places that are the slowest to decrease in danger are the Tenmile Range and the Gore Range.”

Multiple backcountry enthusiasts submitted field reports to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center over the weekend to report natural avalanches and signs of instability, like cracking, in various spots across Summit County and the Front Range.

Headed into the week, the Tenmile and Gore ranges are experiencing a persistent slab problem where snow from October sat on the ground and became faceted, creating a weak layer, according to avalanche officials. Snow from recent storms then buried that weak layer, creating the potential for an avalanche.

In the Summit County area, northerly and east-facing slopes at upper elevations pose the greatest risk. The most likely place to trigger an avalanche is on a slope that sit directly below a ridgetop with recently drifted snow, according to the avalanche forecast. Avalanche officials said southerly slopes without recent wind loading will provide “generally safer conditions.”

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The Colorado Avalanche Information Center on Saturday, Nov. 9, also warned backcountry travelers that it had received its first report of the season of a remote-triggered avalanche from the Tenmile Range in Summit County.

Remote-triggered avalanches are avalanches that are triggered from a distance, typically when a fracture moves along a weak layer in the snow, causing an avalanche to break far away from where it was initially triggered.

The remote-triggered avalanche in Summit County occurred on a northeast-facing slope, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

“This data means we need to make a mental shift in our decision-making and route planning in order to consider what slopes we are connected to,” Colorado avalanche officials wrote. “Look at the terrain and maps to carefully plan your routes to avoid being on or under steep slopes on northerly and easterly aspects.”

As the week progresses without additional significant snow loading on top of the weak layer, the avalanche forecast projects that the persistent slab problem could continue to decrease, eventually becoming unlikely by midweek.

Outside the Gore and Temile ranges, there wasn’t much if any October snow sitting on the ground to facet in the northern mountain region, Colorado avalanche officials wrote in the forecast. In these places, forecasters say November snow fell on bare ground, so the season is starting without prominent weak layers.

But in these spots, wind is the driving factor for the avalanche problem. The wind has been “all over the compass lately,” with westerly winds shifting to the east and then back to the west, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Even where snow cover is thin, avalanche officials say a small avalanche could still prove consequential if it drags a backcountry traveler into rocks or over a cliffside.

“This means you could find slabs of drifted snow in a variety of places,” Colorado avalanche officials wrote. “This is due to winds increasing from the west and plentiful snow in fetches available for transport.”