Use caution in steep terrain; avalanches may still be possible on wind-loaded slopes.
Previous strong northeasterly winds built slabs in leeward features. These slabs may still be possible to trigger in isolated areas.
Some small avalanches were observed Thursday in steep alpine terrain near White Pass. Check this MIN post for further details.
Early season reports have been extremely limited. Please consider helping forecasters and your backcountry community by submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network.
Previous strong northeasterly winds moved and changed the surface snow at all elevations. Expect to find widespread sastrugi snow in open exposed areas, and hard wind slabs on leeward south and westerly slopes.
The lower snowpack is generally strong, with the potential for various crusts at the base.
Snow depths are highly variable across the region with approximately 50 cm around treeline, and up to 100 cm in wind-loaded locations in the alpine.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear. 20 to 40 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.
Sunday
Mostly sunny. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C with a temperature inversion of -5 °C at 1800 m.
Monday
Cloudy. 50 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C
Tuesday
Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 15 to 20 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
