It's COLD!
If you choose to go out, think carefully about the consequences of an accident or equipment failure that could prevent you from moving to stay warm.
Bring extra clothing, and extra equipment (like a sleeping bag and stove), choose low-commitment terrain, and leave yourself extra time to get back to the car well before dark.
10 to 40 cm of recent snow arrived with moderate to strong SW winds. This snow has formed storm slabs over the Dec 31 layer of surface hoar and sun crust, and has been reported as being reactive over the last few days. Variable winds may redistribute snow in some unusual directions over the next few days.
The base of the snowpack consists of weak facets and depth hoar. There has not been any avalanche activity on this layer for a while but the consequences of triggering it remain serious. Use caution in steep terrain or on planar slopes where failures in these basal facets are more likely to propagate.
On Friday some sluffing was observed in steep alpine terrain with the recent snow and wind.
No new avalanches were reported or observed on Thursday.
On Wednesday the local ski areas reported small soft slabs 10-20 cm deep, up to size 1.5, failing with explosives in lee alpine features. Some of these remotely triggered slabs in adjacent features. They also remotely triggered a small slab on a steep treeline feature that failed on a buried sun crust.
Some wind effect in open areas from variable winds as the cold air arrived. 20-40 cm of recent snow over the Dec 31 layer that is comprised of surface hoar in sheltered areas, and a spotty sun crust on steep solar slopes at treeline and above.
The mid-pack is supportive and contains two temperature/rain crusts from Dec 22nd and Dec 5th that reach as high as 2300 m.
The base of the snowpack consists of weak facets and depth hoar in most areas.
Treeline snow depths range from 80-130 cm.
Clear skies and bitterly cold temperatures continue as the strong Arctic ridge of high pressure dominates the Rockies. Daytime temperatures will hover in the -25°C to -30°C range with overnight lows dropping into the -40°C to -43°C range. Light to moderate northwesterly ridgetop winds will be present for the next couple of days.
For more information, click Mountain Weather Forecast.
