Be cautious in areas with new wind slabs and older slightly buried wind slabs.
Seek out areas where the snow is light and unaffected by the wind.
Recent winds have formed slabs on all aspects; however, the most reactive are likely found in south to east facing terrain. Approach ridgelines, mid slope rolls and crossloaded features with caution.
No new avalanches have been reported, but observations are limited.
We expect wind slabs to remain triggerable by riders. If you are heading into the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations or photos to the Mountain Information Network.
On Thursday a size 3 avalanche in extreme, unskiable terrain was reported but details are limited.
5 to 15 cm of snow is falling through the day, which is burying redistributed snow from recent strong wind into deeper deposits on north and east facing slopes at higher elevations.
The prominent mid December crust is buried up to 110 cm deep and extends to 2200 m. Several weak layers persist in the lower snowpack, but concern is limited to higher-elevation terrain where the crust above is absent. Triggering is considered unlikely, except with large loads.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 500 m.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 200 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
