Wind slabs are the primary danger.
Conditions vary across the region, so verify local conditions and watch for signs of instability before entering steep terrain.
Northeast outflow winds are likely forming new slabs. Watch for snow stiffening near ridges and on steep slopes. In some areas, these slabs may sit over weak surface hoar.
Over the weekend, small 20 to 40 cm thick human-triggered avalanches were reported around Shames and Anderson. At Anderson, failures reportedly occurred on shallowly buried surface hoar between 1000 to 1200 m.
Looking ahead, we are confident about new wind slabs formed by outflow winds, but it’s less clear whether the other shallow weaknesses observed over the weekend will persist.
Recent cold, windy weather is actively reshaping the snow surface, especially in open terrain exposed to northeast winds.
Some localized instability was reported near Anderson over the weekend, possibly linked to weak surface hoar about 20 cm deep. This was not observed in the Shames area.
More than 100 cm of heavy snow fell last week, which has likely strengthened the snowpack and reduced the chance of triggering older layers from December (which include buried surface hoar and crusts).
Snowpack depths exceed 350 cm at treeline elevations.
Monday Night
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 4 cm of snow. 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -17 °C.
Tuesday
Mix of sun and cloud. 0 to 1 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.
Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 0 to 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.
Thursday
Mostly sunny. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
