Recent winds have created wind slabs on atypical aspects and at lower elevations than usual.
Strong northeast winds have scoured recent snow from northeast-facing slopes and deposited widespread wind slabs on leeward and cross-loaded terrain. Beneath these wind slabs lies a crust, with weak, faceted snow.
No recent avalanche activity has been reported; however, observations have been very limited. We suspect a natural avalanche cycle has occurred over the past couple of days, primarily driven by loading from strong northeast winds.
Going forward, natural avalanche activity should decrease as winds ease and less loose snow is available for transport. Human-triggered avalanches, however, will remain possible on recently wind-loaded slopes.
Roughly 20 to 40 cm of recent snow has been heavily affected by strong northeast winds. In exposed alpine and treeline terrain, wind has scoured snow down to an older crust, while widespread wind slab formation has occurred on leeward and cross-loaded slopes.
A mid-January crust is approximately 30 to 60 cm below the surface. The snowpack below this layer is well-settled and generally well-bonded.
Wednesday Night
Clear skies. 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.
Thursday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.
Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
