Your alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m.—Steam rises off the coffee inside your van at Junction West, and outside a crystal-clear moon lights up the Book Cliffs. In two hours you’ll crest McClure Pass, skins on, hunting those north-facing pillows you’ve been doom-scrolling all week. But one question chews at the stoke: is that thin, faceted snowpack ready to break under your very first turn?
Key Takeaways
• The snowpack is thin and weak, like a shaky tower of blocks.
• A slab slid in Coal Creek yesterday, proving slopes can still break.
• Steep north and east faces over 30° are the most dangerous today.
• Safer riding lives on gentle south and southwest glades under 25°.
• Watch for warning signs: cracks, “whomp” sounds, or wind-blown pillows.
• Good route picks: Spruce Meadows loop (easy) and Coal Creek Spine (moderate). Skip Marble East Chute until the snowpack heals.
• Every person needs beacon, probe, and shovel—check them before you start.
• Talk often, travel one at a time on steep ground, and know two ways out.
• The drive from Junction West to McClure takes about 1 h 45 m; park only in plowed pull-outs so plows can pass.
Hang tight. In the next five minutes you’ll get:
• A quick-read snapshot of today’s avalanche setup—what yesterday’s Coal Creek slides are really telling us.
• Terrain cheatsheets that flag which roadside glades, bowls, and ridgelines play nice with persistent weak layers—and which ones won’t.
• Drive-day logistics from Junction West to the summit pull-outs, plus parking beta that keeps the plows happy.
• A no-fluff safety checklist you can run through before your kids click in, your Zoom call starts, or your airbag trigger gets armed.
Ready to trade uncertainty for a solid tour plan? Let’s dig in before the sun hits those east-facing chutes.
Today’s Avalanche Pulse: What the Numbers and Yesterday’s Slides Shout
SNOTEL at McClure Pass is reading 40–90 cm of total depth—about half the historical norm, and the snow-water-equivalent sits near 35 inches versus 70 in an average winter. The shortfall alone isn’t the headline; it’s the structure. Faceted grains stacked over depth hoar mean the pack can behave like a house of cards. Field crews have compared the setup to a late-stage Jenga tower: remove one wrong block and the stack unzips. That alone should nudge every tour plan a rung down the risk ladder. Data lovers can dive into the live stream at Snoflo’s SNOTEL feed.
Yesterday, a Coal Creek party popped a 22-centimeter hard slab on a 42-degree northeast aspect—width of a two-car driveway, big enough to bang up your partner and bury a ski or two. Multiple dry-loose slides also funneled through steep ribs, breaking small trees along the way. The CAIC observation reads like a go-slow memo: persistent slab coupled with wind drift equals remote-trigger potential. If that rings familiar, it should—Red Mountain Pass saw the same “deep and wide” pattern earlier this month, stamped with a MODERATE danger rating and similar terrain cues (forecast archive).
Red-Flag Checklist Before You Unbuckle a Ski Strap
Cracking on small test slopes, audible whomphs, or fresh cornice chunks should flip plans from objective A to objective B without debate. Winds have stiffened lee pockets on north and east faces; poke those wind pillows with a ski tip and you’ll feel the drumhead tension. Any slope angle tipping past 30 degrees—especially with a convex roll-over—sits squarely in the trigger zone for this weak-layer combo.
New snow totals today hover around three inches, but six inches or more is the tripwire CAIC forecasters flagged earlier in the week. Even a modest storm can tip the balance, especially where the wind has already piled snow into drifts. If you’re seeing pinwheels or feeling the surface stiffen underfoot, assume the slab is gaining strength faster than the facets can adjust.
Terrain Decoder: How Each McClure Zone Treats a Persistent Slab
Zone 1, the roadside glades between 8,700 and 9,300 feet, lay out gentle 24- to 28-degree pitches on south and southwest aspects. Mellow angles and quick tree-to-highway exits make them prime classrooms for teens or anyone shaking off early-season cobwebs. The flip side? Mid-day sun crust turns falling-leaf drills into edge-catch wipeouts, and tree wells loom deep thanks to the thin pack.
Zone 2, Coal Creek Bowls, holds the juicy northerly snow but also harbors wind slabs over facets. Skin up a well-supported spine instead of the drainage gut, and mark two conservative egress gullies on your map before you click in. If cracking appears underfoot, pull the plug early and glide back into the mellow meadows above the highway—the day’s salvage option beats a stretcher ride.
Zone 3, the upper ridgelines rolling toward Marble Peak, serves bigger vertical and bragging-rights shots yet demands respect. Anything steeper than 30 degrees here sits on a suspect base. Smart teams treat these ridges as observation decks: dig quick hand pits, watch for shooting cracks, and be ready to default to the lower-angle rib that shadows your chosen line. Airbag packs earn their keep in this real estate, but they don’t replace slope management.
Route Picks That Match Risk Appetite and Time on the Clock
Short-window families or Friday-arrival powder chasers should consider the “Spruce Meadows Lollipop.” Start at the summit pull-out, skin a looping one-mile circuit through south-facing meadows, nab 600 feet of vert, and keep slope angles below 25 degrees. It’s the easiest way to give kids a taste of touring without flirting with avalanche terrain, and the south aspect warms frozen fingers fast.
Those hunting moderate pow can aim for the “Coal Creek Spine & Dine.” From the winter lot, follow a prominent rib to 10,800 feet, tally 1,600 vertical, and drop 28-degree north glades one at a time. Map two bail lines: one drainage out to Highway 133 and one lower rib that touches the main skin-track. That redundancy keeps the day fun if cracking, drifting, or white-out visibility shows early and builds a cushion against changing conditions.
Experts eyeing big shots might plot the “Marble East Chute Recon,” but a clear disclaimer rides shotgun: until the persistent slab heals, this 34- to 38-degree playground is a look-but-don’t-touch objective. Use it as a lesson in patience; the mountain will wait longer than your ligament.
Drive-Day Logistics: Smoothing the Junction West ➜ McClure Commute
Factor 1 hour 45 minutes for the 80-mile hop when pavement is dry. Add at least half an hour after a storm because CDOT plows stage equipment at Paonia Reservoir and the summit. Bookmark the CDOT webcam portal (cotrip.org) before you shift into drive; chain laws can snap into effect overnight, catching 2WD rentals off guard.
Top off fuel and water in Grand Junction—after Paonia Reservoir, services evaporate until Carbondale. Summit parking works only in plowed pull-outs or the Coal Creek winter lot. Shovel the slot wider if fresh snow narrows shoulders, and scatter a scoop of traction sand for the evening exit. Plows will tow rigs choking the lane, and a tow fee slays more stoke than a blown binding.
Pack Check: Daily Gear and Readiness Drill
Every partner carries the holy trinity: modern digital beacon worn under the shell, 280-centimeter probe, and metal-blade shovel. Run a range test at the trailhead—beacon batteries above 60 percent only, please—and eyeball shovel ferrules for ice buildup. Airbag packs? Great, as long as the trigger is armed and the cylinder topped off.
Keep helmet, emergency bivy, first-aid pouch, headlamp, and spare gloves near the top of the pack so no one unloads everything to grab the essentials. Parents, hand this checklist to teens instead of rattling off rules; ownership builds safer habits. Retirees, think of the beacon as a homing beacon, the probe as the antenna, and the shovel as the extraction tool—simple analogies keep the tech approachable. Digital nomads, your debug log isn’t code today; it’s the snowpit you dig at lunch to snag hardness taps and look for that dreaded four-finger layer on facets.
Keep the Signal Strong: Group Comms and Decision Protocols
Pick a tour leader for flow but invite constant input. Quiet dissent often foreshadows bad calls. Agree on hand signals—Up for start skinning, Clear for all good, Ski It for the next rider—and keep radios on a common channel. Pause every ten minutes to eyeball aspect, slope angle, and any fresh red flags. One person on the slope at a time remains the gold standard; regroup only in islands of safety well out of runout zones.
Debrief during the drive home. What clues did you miss, and which calls saved the day? Those conversations sharpen tomorrow’s line and cement group trust, whether you’re sharing a Sprinter van or herding teens into the RV’s bunk beds.
When you’re trading avy forecasts at dawn and chasing soft turns by noon, a reliable base camp matters as much as your beacon battery. Junction West puts you two strong coffees closer to McClure’s trailheads, then welcomes you back with hot showers, fiber-fast WiFi for the next CAIC check, and enough room to spread out skins, maps, and tailgate tacos. Lock in your site today, dial in tomorrow’s tour plan from the comfort of our heated lounge, and let Grand Junction’s friendliest backcountry hub keep the logistics easy—so all your energy goes where it belongs: carving safe, unforgettable lines. Reserve your spot now and make every powder day start (and finish) at Junction West.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How trustworthy is the CAIC danger rating for McClure Pass on any given morning?
A: The CAIC forecast pulls from SNOTEL data, forecaster field days, and vetted public obs, so it captures broad patterns well, but small terrain features can hide slabs the bulletin can’t see; treat the rating as a region-wide weather report and confirm or downgrade it with your own hand pits, ski-cut tests, and red-flag observations once you’re on the snow.
Q: What slope angle should I cap my tour at while the persistent slab lingers?
A: With facets sitting under recent wind slabs, keeping turns on terrain no steeper than 28 degrees dramatically shrinks the chance of triggering a slide, and you still find quality powder in the Coal Creek meadows and lower Spruce ridges without rolling past the 30-degree tipping point.
Q: Where can I legally park for a dawn start without blocking the plows?
A: The Coal Creek winter lot just west of the summit and the two plowed pull-outs on the north side of the pass are CDOT-approved; angle park tight to the snowbank, shovel your exit wider if it stormed overnight, and avoid the turnout directly under the big “Avalanche Area” sign because that shoulder doubles as a chain-up lane.
Q: I’m rolling in from Denver around midnight—can Junction West still check me in?
A: Yes, the park runs late-arrival self-check envelopes at the office door and posts your site number on the whiteboard, so you can plug in quietly, hit the 24-hour bathhouse for a hot shower, and settle up at the desk over coffee the next morning.
Q: Does Junction West have a place to dry skins and boots before the next tour?
A: The heated laundry room has a boot-dry rack and overhead hooks; hang skins glue-to-glue there overnight and they’ll be crisp by dawn without stinking up your van or RV.
Q: How do I explain a “MODERATE” danger rating to my kids without scaring them?
A: Tell them it’s like driving on a wet road: you can still get where you’re going, but you slow down, leave extra space, and avoid the sketchy corners; on snow that means choosing lower-angle slopes, spreading out one at a time, and pulling the plug if you hear cracks or whomphs.
Q: Which McClure Pass glades give teens a fun first tour yet stay mellow?
A: The south-facing Spruce Meadows loop right off the summit pull-out tops out at 25 degrees, has clear sightlines for coaching, and lets you bail onto the highway within five minutes if energy or weather tanks.
Q: Will wind loading make the east-facing chutes near Marble dangerous before Sunday’s storm clears?
A: Forecasted west winds of 15–25 mph will drift new snow onto those east aspects, stacking slabs above the weak facets, so expect touchier conditions there for at least 24–48 hours after the storm even if the sky goes blue, and shift objectives to wind-scoured west ridges or sheltered trees until slab stiffness drops.
Q: Can I skin a lap at first light and still be online for an 11 a.m. Zoom call?
A: If you leave Junction West by 5:45 a.m., park at the summit by 7:30, and stick to a 1,000-foot lap in the roadside glades, you’ll be back at your rig by 9:45 and on fiber WiFi at the campground by 10:45 with enough buffer to brew coffee before the meeting starts.
Q: Where do I grab real-time weather and snow sensors while on the road up Highway 133?
A: Bookmark the McClure Pass SNOTEL, the Schofield Pass RAWS wind station, and the CDOT webcam at mile marker 44; each updates every hour and loads quickly over LTE between Carbondale and Paonia, giving you temp, wind, and new snow totals before you commit to a line.
Q: Which local guide outfits offer a one-day avalanche refresher for retirees who toured “back in the day”?
A: Both Aspen Alpine Guides and Cripple Creek Backcountry run private field refreshers on McClure terrain, focusing on modern beacon skills, rescue drills, and slope-angle recognition, and they’ll meet you at the pass pull-out so you can follow in behind the guide rig rather than navigating unplowed side roads alone.
Q: My dog travels with us—are winter RV sites and trails at Junction West pet-friendly?
A: Absolutely; the park keeps two dog-walk loops plowed, provides waste bags, and allows pets in all pull-through and back-in sites year-round as long as they’re leashed, so your pup can stretch before and after the tour without post-hole wallowing.
Q: What emergency contact should we program if cell service drops in the Coal Creek zone?
A: Save Gunnison County SAR dispatch at 970-641-1113 and carry a satellite messenger; texting them your coordinates and injury details via inReach or ZOLEO triggers a direct page to the local team even when your phone shows “No Service.”
Q: After a tour, is there a community spot at Junction West to swap beta over a beer?
A: Most evenings someone sparks the communal fire pit by the picnic pavilion around 6 p.m.; bring your beverage, toss a couple bucks in the wood kitty, and you’ll usually find other backcountry crews comparing pit results and planning tomorrow’s dawn patrol.
