Keep an eye on conditions throughout the day and be prepared to fall back to more conservative terrain.
Wind slab size and sensitivity will increase throughout the day.
West winds and new snow wil form wind slabs throughout the day. These slabs will be most reactive where they overlie surface hoar, facets or a crust. During periods of strong winds slabs may be further down slope than expected.
Only small dry loose avalanches in steep terrain have been reported in the past couple days.
We expect wind slab avalanches to be rider triggerable in areas that receive more than 10 cm on Friday.
Up to 20 cm of new snow could accumulate throughout Friday. This will add to the 5 cm that buried a variety of surfaces including surface hoar and facets in sheltered terrain, a crust on south and west facing slopes as well as old wind slab on exposed terrain.
The widespread crust buried in early February is down 5 to 40 cm. This crust may have a layer of facets above it.
The remainder of the snowpack is settled and not concerning.
Thursday Night
Clear skies. 40 to 60 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -4°C.
Friday
Cloudy with up to 20 cm of new snow. 40 to 70 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -4°C.
Saturday
Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of new snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -7°C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with up to 20 cm of new snow. 15 to 35 km/h northwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -6°C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
