West Slopes South

Even with generally safe avalanche conditions, you may still trigger very small slides on isolated slopes. These avalanches should not grow large enough to harm you unless you travel in high consequence terrain. If you go above cliffs, on to rocky slopes, or into confined chutes, don’t let one of these shallow slides catch you by surprise. 

A mostly right-side-up and shallow upper snowpack sits over a very prominent and sometimes icy crust (1/13) formed during the atmospheric river event earlier this month. As a result, we expect generally safe avalanche conditions in most locations. Despite the shallow nature of the surface snow, it contains several complex layers. Recent snow likely buried weak facets, surface hoar, and/or, on sunny aspects, a thin crust. So, far there just isn’t enough snow over these potential weak layers to create a hazard.  As we continue to add more snow or if the wind begins to blow that could change. Additional layers of soft snow and thin crusts may be found on some slopes in the upper snowpack. The robust 1/13 crust should serve as a “new ground” as we go forward. We don’t anticipate avalanches breaking below this layer, and it could act as a bed surface for future avalanches. 

At present we don’t think there’s enough snow above the 1/13 to pose a significant risk, but that doesn’t mean you cannot trigger an avalanche. You may still trigger shallow slides in the recent snow on isolated slopes. On wind-exposed ridgelines don’t be surprised to find thin wind slabs on lee features. In the Crystal backcountry Saturday, very thin wind slabs failed easily on faceted grains. If the wind picks up, they may grow slightly thicker. In wind-sheltered areas, you may trigger very small loose avalanches on steep slopes particularly during periods of sunshine Monday. The shallow nature of the upper snowpack will limit the potential size of any avalanche. However, even small slides can harm you in high consequence terrain. If you plan to travel in confined chutes or cliffy areas don’t let one of these small avalanches catch you off guard. 

Travel continues to improve with each storm. However, you may still encounter difficult conditions with variable and sometimes firm slopes. Expect icy travel where the 1/13 layer rests closer to the surface such as wind-exposed slopes and areas under thick trees. A few inches of new snow may hide the snow conditions making it challenging to predict. Give yourself extra time and patience to manage these tricky travel conditions.