West Slopes Central

With a sunny day in the forecast, you could see wet avalanches peel off the warmest slopes, especially in unsupported, rocky, alpine terrain. Look for and assess pockets of wind-drifted snow before moving into steep and consequential terrain. Low danger doesn't mean no avalanches - be ready to change plans if you find more signs of instability or avalanche activity than expected.

Look for signs of instability like rollerballs, cliffs shedding snow, or small, fresh wet avalanches as the day warms. Also note slopes where you find wet unconsolidated snow. If you repeatedly see signs of instability, then assume the avalanche danger is likely a bit higher and limit time spent on or below steep sunny slopes and cliffs. An NWAC Forecaster along Hwy 2 reported that high, south-facing alpine faces continued to shed snow and cornices despite a lack of fresh wet avalanche activity at other elevations. 

West Central picked anywhere from a trace to an inch of new snow overnight Monday. Look for fresh wind slab on the leeward side of upper elevation ridgelines, especially on the high alpine peaks. Keep an eye out for the usual signs of wind transport like scoured ridgelines, fresh drifts and wind lips, and slabby, dense-looking snow. Assess for wind slab before stepping into steep terrain, and move cautiously onto slopes with consequence instead of diving right in.

The combination of slab and wet snow avalanches reported from other zones over the weekend and Monday quickly tapered off with the return of cloud cover and cooler temperatures the past few days. The snowpack is topped with breakable crust on southerly aspects at all elevations and even shaded ones up to 5000-6000'. The most notable snowpack variable was where weak snow had developed over the surface crust from a few days ago and was then capped by another crust.

Instability at storm layer interfaces quickly resolved, even in areas where avalanches were reported to have failed on a layer of surface hoar that was buried on Jan 2nd. As usual, you may find different snowpack variables as you head into bigger or less traveled terrain. Challenging travel and tree bombs might be the biggest hazards you encounter on Thursday.