Carefully check for wind slabs before committing yourself to a consequential feature.
Wind slabs are getting larger and more likely to avalanche under the weight of a human.
Human triggerable wind slabs may be found below ridgetops and in cross-loaded terrain. They may be more reactive where they have formed in shallow, rocky terrain with a more faceted snowpack.
On Wednesday, several small (up to size 1.5) natural and human triggered wind and storm slab avalanches were reported, as well as sluffing with rider traffic in steep terrain.
Recently, there were reports of glide cracks opening up and glide slab avalanches up to size 2. Notably more than usual. This problem may exist only in these isolated features, but we'll see if a pattern emerges.
25 to 40 cm of recent snow covers a thin crust in some areas. Moderate southwest and west winds may have formed wind slabs on lee slopes at treeline and above. A spotty layer of surface hoar (weak, feathery crystals) is found 40 to 50 cm deep. On south-facing slopes, this layer may be a crust.
A crust/facet/surface hoar layer (buried in early December) may be found 90 to 160 cm deep. It was previously most active south of Highway 5, but it no longer seems to be an avalanche problem for this forecast area.
Thursday Night
Increasing cloud with moderate flurries starting. Up to 10 cm of snow. 20-40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Possible temperature inversion above 1500 m. Treeline temperature-3 °C.
Friday
Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Temperature inversion breaks down. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow west of the Columbia River. 20 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with up to 2 cm of snow. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
