Southwest winds have formed deposits of reactive wind slab.
Seek out sheltered terrain.
Southwest winds have formed reactive slabs. Watch for corniced ridges, cross-loaded features, and convex rollovers.
These slabs may step down to deeper layers, producing larger-than-expected avalanches.
On Friday a size 3 avalanche occurred in Haines Pass, running over the highway.
A few size 1.5 wind slab avalanches were reported by the Field Team in the Nadahini area on Thursday, failing below corniced ridgeline features. Skiers were able to trigger wind slab deposits on north- and east-facing slopes near Haines Junction.
If you go into the backcountry, please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network.
Moderate and strong south winds have redistributed 30 cm of new snow. Deeper, more reactive deposits exist in leeward terrain. Many windward features are stripped back to the ground.
A weak layer of faceted crystals or surface hoar found 50 to 80 cm deep remains a concern. A crust exists buried 100 cm deep. The midpack is generally facetted to the ground.
With warm temperatures on Saturday, a surface crust may have formed at the surface at lower elevations, up to 1500 m.
Saturday Night
Cloudy with 3 cm of snow expected. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -1 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with snow flurries. 30 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around -2 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Monday
Cloudy with snow flurries. 15 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around -2 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy. 30 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around -3 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
For more details, see the Mountain Weather Forecast.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
