A stout rain crust in the upper snowpack is currently bridging any weak layers in our snowpack. Small pockets of wind loaded snow may be triggered in extreme terrain at elevations above treeline today. The biggest safety concern right now is falling or crashing on the firm snowpack surface. Stagnant weather will keep us in this state of good stability and poor riding conditions through the weekend.
A light dusting of snow from last Sunday is coating our gnarly rain crust at the surface. Light to moderate winds have pushed this new snow into cohesive pockets in chutes, below wind-lips and steep roll-overs. These isolated pockets of wind slab will be difficult to trigger. Very steep terrain at high elevations would be the locations to watch out for today.
Aaahhhh! I love a good paradox! Conditions right now remain firm and stable due to the crazy weather event that rolled through the northwest on January 12th and 13th. Good stability; but, lousy skiing conditions. So hard to have it all.
The surface of the crust layer is covered with a light coat of snow, in the timber the conditions are pretty predictable and consistent. Out in the open country the snow has been casually pushed around into lips and pockets of dense slab that are pretty resistant to triggers and surprisingly well bonded to the existing crust layer. Like I mentioned, it's pretty stable out there, high and extreme terrain is where you might find some trouble if you go looking for it. With the firm surface out there I would be more worried about falling and sliding down the hill in steep terrain. It's pretty slick in spots where the wind stripped the snow away. Looking into the future we have a couple of potential problems developing. There are spots where we are seeing some small facets develop above and below the crust layer. We are also seeing wide spread surface hoar growth under these clear and cold conditions. I am hoping to see a bit of wind before our next storm as this will help reduce our surface hoar issue. These facets and surface hoar are not an issue for now; but, if we ever see new snow again we can expect it to bond poorly to the surface of our snowpack. Check out the video below for more information, (unedited version for entertainment value).
