While snow has yet to significantly pack across Colorado’s mountains, a careful watch has begun.

With the start of November came the start of Colorado Avalanche Information Center’s daily forecasts — meant to inform skiers, snowmobilers, snowshoers and all backcountry travelers of terrain prone to sliding. When it comes to avalanches, the state is known as the deadliest, with more than 100 accidents claiming an average of six lives a year.

Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) rated danger statewide as “low” at the start of the month. The center reported October as the driest in terms of snow-water equivalent since the 2016-17 season.

“Although it’s not great for Colorado’s water resources, a lack of early-season snow could be beneficial for future snowpack stability,” CAIC explained in a social media post. “When we have snowy Octobers with big storms — followed by breaks in snowfall — that layer of snow sits on the ground, faceting and turning into weak, cohesionless snow that is unable to support future loads.”

Ideally, the post continued, “the spigot turns on in mid-November and we get plentiful snow on top of bare ground instead of on a weak layer.”

But avalanches have already been spotted, according to field reports submitted to avalanche.state.co.us, where CAIC posts data-based forecasts and more information. And weak layers could form at any point in the winter, the center emphasized in its early message to snow enthusiasts: “In the meantime, now is a great time to prep your gear and refresh your avalanche skills.”

There’s a new way to prep this year.

Avalanche Aware is a free online course that a news release described as using “video, expert insights and real-world examples to help participants build a solid foundation before heading into the mountains.” In the release, CAIC Director Ethan Greene called it “a straightforward first step for anyone heading into the backcountry.”

Avalanche Aware was previously launched as a series of in-person sessions and events. “By taking the curriculum launched in 2023 and putting it online this season, we’re extending a program that reached Coloradans at more than 100 events last year and making it easier to start learning at home and then build skills in the field,” Greene said.

The course is available at avalancheaware.com.

More training resources are listed at avalanche.state.co.us.

Also on the site, CAIC maintains a database of reported accidents across the state. Last season, 108 people were caught in avalanches, with 28 of those buried. Nine people were injured, and three died.