Great conditions this week for backcountry touring and climbing, with variable reports of snow quality on the surface, but mostly good. Couloirs are in reasonably good shape, but watch for small pockets of windslab, especially on gully walls or at transition areas near the top, where even a thin windslab can have more consequences.
Wind slabs may exist in the alpine on steep lee aspects resulting from south and west winds. Watch for loaded areas and drifted snow, and use small terrain features to check the stability of the surface snow. A few cm's of new snow Saturday may add slightly to this problem.
No new avalanches observed or reported.
10-15 cm of soft surface snow in sheltered alpine areas, and down to the valley bottom on north aspects. Steeper solar aspects have surface crusts, and areas exposed to the wind have a lot of wind effect. A Jan 24 layer of surface hoar/crust is down 15-30 cm at treeline and below. Below this interface, the snowpack is generally strong and well settled.
Saturday - Cloudy with flurries, light to moderate SW-W winds, 3-5 cm of new snow, and treeline temperatures between -5 to -8°C.
Sunday - Mostly sunny with light to moderate SW-W winds, and treeline temperatures between -8 to -10°C.
