Recent snow and wind have produced dangerous avalanche conditions at higher elevations.
A November crust/facet layer exists deep in the snowpack. Conditions have lent well to cleaning out and stabilizing the problem, but it may still be possible to trigger, particularly in thin-to-thick areas in the alpine.
Recent snow and wind have created widespread storm slabs at higher elevations. These slabs will likely be larger and more reactive in northerly, wind-loaded terrain.
Explosive control work on Thursday morning produced reactive slabs in wind-loaded, northerly terrain, up to size 1.5.
On Wednesday, numerous explosive and skier-triggered storm slab avalanches were reported across a variety of aspects and elevations, up to size 2.
Approximately 30 to 60 cm of recent storm snow has accumulated, accompanied by strong to extreme southerly alpine winds.
Below the recent snow, a melt-freeze crust is present at elevations of 2200 m and below. The depth of this layer is highly variable due to extensive recent wind transport.
A crust with associated facets, formed in mid-November, is buried an estimated 80 to 150 cm deep. This layer remains a concern in alpine terrain where it has not been capped by a strong overlying crust.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 20 to 30 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 15 to 20 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
