Use caution around wind loaded pockets near ridgecrest. Old wind slabs formed over faceted snow or more isolated surface hoar could still be sensitive to human triggers.
Wind slabs exist near ridge crests. Most have stabilized in recent days, but slabs could prove surprisingly reactive in isolated areas where preserved surface hoar is buried.
No new avalanches have been reported, but a large (size 2) natural slab avalanche was reported on Thursday in the alpine. Click on the picture for full details.
Given its solitary appearance amid widespread recent traffic in the White Pass area, this is the kind of avalanche that suggests a quite isolated problem, but one that could be triggered by the weight of a person or machine in a suspect location.
Variable conditions exist at all elevations, including crusty and wind-affected snow. Soft snow and good riding can still be found in sheltered north-facing terrain. New surface hoar has formed at treeline.
An older layer of surface hoar may be found down 20 - 60 cm in isolated north-facing terrain features. Check out the field team's MIN from Thursday for more.
A thick melt-freeze crust is buried 50 - 100 cm and exists below 1500 m.
Monday night
Cloudy with isolated flurries. 30 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperatures near -3 °C.
Tuesday
Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing 1 - 2 cm of new snow, continuing overnight. 30 - 40 km/h southwest alpine wind, increasing. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing 1 - 4 cm of new snow, continuing overnight. 50 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing 1 - 2 cm of new snow and 3-day snow totals of up to 15 cm. 55 - 70 km/h southwest alpine wind, increasing.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
