Carefully assess for wind slab as you travel.
Human triggered wind slabs are likely and may propagate widely.
Recent wind affect is extensive, wind slabs could be found on most exposed features. Wind slabs triggered at higher elevations could run below treeline. Buried weak layers may be reactive in wind affected terrain.
Our field team has observed wind slab avalanches up to size 2 on northeast aspects. These avalanches likely occurred on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Please post any photos or observations to the MIN if you head out.
By Friday morning up to 30 cm of new snow may have accumulated. This new snow will be accompanied by strong to extreme southwest wind, forming deeper deposits on north and east aspects. Windward slopes may be scoured back to an old crust.
Two prominent layers exist in the snowpack:
· A layer of facets from early February down around 40 cm.
· A thick crust from late January down 50 to 100 cm
The remainder of the snowpack is well settled.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Sunday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 70 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
