Persistent weak layers may produce very large, dangerous avalanches.
The best & safest riding is in shady, wind-sheltered areas in the trees.
Wind slabs may remain triggerable on on a variety of aspects at upper elevations. Seek out soft non-wind affected snow on shady aspects for the best and safest riding.
Persistent weak layers of crust/facets or surface hoar are buried in the upper 250 cm of the snowpack. Signs of instability may not be evident, and the only defence is choosing smaller, low-consequence terrain.
Over the last week, a few natural and several skier-triggered storm and wind slabs up to size 2 occurred. A cornice fall triggered a size 3 persistent slab last Monday.
A fatal avalanche accident that failed on the persistent weak layer occurred on March 22. More details here.
Observations in the region have been limited, and there's high uncertainty around persistent weak layers.
Up to 60 cm of settling storm snow covers a crust on most aspects and hard wind-pressed surfaces on shaded alpine slopes. Wind slabs developed on various aspects at upper elevations with recent winds. Sun-affected slopes may have a new crust on the surface.
Persistent weak layers of crust/facets or surface hoar are buried up to 250 cm deep in the snowpack. While triggering these layers is trending toward unlikely, they present a low-probability, high-consequence problem.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear skies. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 0 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
