West Slopes Central

Generally safe avalanche conditions exist. Your largest concern is firm and bumpy snow surfaces, especially at lower elevations and on east, south and west aspects, requiring extra caution for travel.  You might find scattered wind drifted pockets of snow on the highest peaks.

Cooler conditions begin Monday, and wet loose avalanche concerns from the last few days will dissipate. Depending on cloud cover and wind speeds, south and east slopes may soften in the morning. Considering the extent of sun and warm temperatures over the weekend, most surfaces are already adjusted to warm temperatures and small amounts of warming Monday morning are not expected to lead to avalanches. Keep in mind that you will find slopes previously cooked by the sun bumpy, and firm in the coming days. In general, surfaces are variable, with sun crusts, wind crusts, and low density or heavier dry snow on northerly aspects also. 

Winds begin increasing Monday, and may contribute to small amounts of wind slab development in upper elevation areas. There is a small chance you could encounter a reactive wind slab above treeline. If you find low-density dry snow on higher north-facing slopes you might also be able to trigger small loose dry avalanches on steep slopes. Either of these problems may exist in isolated areas at upper elevations Monday, but they are not expected to be a large concern. 

A large storm February 26 - March 2 deposited roughly 8-14 inches of water throughout the zone. It started as several feet of snow at upper elevations, but only the upper reaches of above treeline areas avoided mid-storm rain. Above approximately 5000ft, a foot or so of snow fell on top of the rain layer, mainly staying preserved on northerly aspects. Slab and loose snow avalanches occurred during the storm, many still visible, partially buried with more snow on top. We’ve since had days of high pressure with intense sun, where more recent wet loose avalanches occurred on south-facing slopes. This coming week expect cooler temperatures, scattered snow showers Tuesday, and more snow looking ahead to the weekend to freshen things up.