Watch for fresh wind slabs forming in new terrain features as the wind swings from north to southwest.
Previous northerly wind has redistributed 20 cm of recent snow into wind slabs in the alpine and exposed areas at treeline. As winds pick up from the southwest Sunday afternoon, watch for loading patterns to change.
Our field team observed shooting cracks in newly formed wind slabs on Friday, as reported in their MIN.
A natural wind slab avalanche, size 1.5, was observed at White Pass, east of Big Kahuna, in steep, rocky terrain on Thursday. For more details check out the MIN report!
If you head out in the backcountry please support your community by submitting a MIN report!
Previous northerly wind has redistributed 20 cm of recent snow into south-facing features in the alpine and exposed areas at treeline. As the wind ramps up out of the southwest on Sunday afternoon, expect new wind slabs to form on opposing aspects.
A faceting crust is found down 20-50 cm on solar aspects but has not been reactive in tests. The lower snowpack consists of soft, sugary facets and a crust near ground level.
Up to 100 cm of snow can be found in the alpine however winds have made distribution variable. Treeline snow depth averages 80 cm. Early-season hazards exist at treeline and below such as rocks, stumps, and open creeks.
Saturday night
Clear. Northerly ridge winds light. Temperatures continue dropping to -25 at 1500 m.
Sunday
Increasing cloud in the afternoon. Ridge winds increasing to 40 km/h from the southwest. Temperatures rising to -17 at 1500m.
Monday
Cloudy with, 5 cm accumulation. Strong southerly wind. Temperatures rising to -8 at 1500m.
Tuesday
5 cm overnight then a mix of sun and cloud with scattered flurries. Moderate southwest wind. Temperatures around -10 at 1500m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
