Buried weak layers will likely cause dangerous avalanche conditions to persist.
Ensure your route planning accounts for overhead hazard and avoids travelling under large slopes.
Large avalanches have failed on deeply buried surface hoar or on a crust. Expect this problem to remain as a low likelihood high consequence problem .
Large storm slab avalanches continue to occur. Give the snowpack time to adjust to the new load.
The avalanche cycle continued on through the past week, with many large to very large (size 2-3) storm and persistent slab avalanches. These avalanches, were noted to be failing deep within the snowpack, either below the storm snow or on the crust from November.
The larger avalanches (size 3-3.5) were running from the alpine into the valley bottoms, well below treeline.
50 to 120 cm of snow has fallen over the past week and has rapidly settled . This new snow overlies a weak surface hoar layer and/or weak faceted snow.
Surface hoar is most likely to be located in tree openings sheltered from the wind, whereas faceted snow may be found in wind-exposed terrain into the alpine.
A hard melt freeze crust formed in mid November, can be found down 120 to 150 cm. Expect to find faceted snow crystals that are associated with this crust. This layer has recently produced large avalanches due to ongoing snowfall and increased loading.
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.
Sunday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.
Monday
Cloudy. 15 to 35 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 25 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
