It's going to get rowdy out there. New snow and wind will rapidly form reactive Wind Slabs. Avoid wind affected terrain features and pay attention to the snow beneath your feet or track and be ready to back off quickly if you feel or see signs of instability.
This will be a very active storm and wind slabs will form rapidly. Lee aspects such as steep, northerly start zones and cross-loaded gullies should be avoided during this time. Look for signs of potential reactivity including stiffening of the snow below your feet or track and/or shooting cracks. Manage overhead hazard as a period of natural avalanche activity is likely.
No new avalanches were reported over the weekend.
Avalanche professionals traveling the South Klondike highway corridor on Monday reported observing active cross-loading and wind slab deposition at higher elevations.
As the storm builds and the new snow and south winds arrive, expect to see wind slabs developing rapidly on all lee features at treeline and above.
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.
Monday night
10-15cm of new snow overnight. Temperatures at -5˚C. Winds from the southwest at 30km/h gusting to 50km/h
Tuesday
Blizzard-like conditions. 5-10cm of new snow. Temperatures steady near -5˚C through the day. Winds from the southwest at 30km/h gusting to 70km/h in White Pass.
Wednesday
5cm of new snow. Temperatures ranging from -10˚C to -5˚C. Winds from the southwest 15km/h
Thursday
5cm of new snow. Temperatures ranging from -10˚C to -5˚C. Winds from the southwest 20km/h
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
