Monday looks like a great time to be up high but watch for the effects of solar warming later in the day. Ski quality varies from poor in wind-exposed areas to good in sheltered spots. Be cautious of lingering wind slabs and the continued facetting of the surface snow, which may sluff easily in steep terrain.
Lingering hard wind slabs exist in alpine lee features. Potential failure planes are old weak facet layers, or the Jan 30 layer of facets, sun crusts, and isolated surface hoar down beneath the more recent snow.
Monday: Mainly sunny with light NW winds at ridgetop. Treeline temperatures steady between -12 to -15°C.
25-30 cm of settled snow from last week has been redistributed by the wind in exposed locations, burying the Jan 30 weak layer, and in isolated locations formed now what are aging wind slabs. Specific areas exposed to the wind may have strastrugi. The mid and lower snowpack is well settled, with tree-line snow depths ranging from 120 cm to 180 cm.
Some skier-triggered small wind slabs were reported on Saturday up to size 1. Local ski areas also reported small wind slabs on Sunday, up to size 1.5 triggered with explosives along with some small, loose, dry avalanches in steep terrain.
