Warming alpine temperatures could increase wind slab reactivity.
Wind slab sensitivity may increase with warming alpine temperatures.
Surface slabs may sit above layers of weak surface hoar, prolonging their reactivity.
We received a few late reports of riders triggering wind slab avalanches on Sunday. They were mostly small (size 1) and 20 to 30 cm deep. They occurred on various aspects at alpine to treeline elevations.
Looking forward, it remains possible that riders could trigger similar avalanches to these.
A thin crust or moist snow can be found on sun-affected slopes depending on the time of day. Variable wind-affected snow exists in wind-exposed terrain. While low-density, faceted powder can still be found in wind-sheltered terrain on primarily north through east aspects.
In the upper snowpack, layers of surface hoar buried throughout January are present, roughly 20 to 50 cm deep, and have shown signs of reactivity in areas where a cohesive slab has formed above.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled and strong, with no current concerns.
Sunday Night
Clear skies. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C with a chance of above-freezing alpine temperatures.
Monday
Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C with a chance of above-freezing alpine temperatures.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny. 10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C with a chance of above-freezing alpine temperatures.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny. 30 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
