Avoid areas that show signs of instability and be cautions near wind affected slopes where the surface snow is hard or "slabby".
Strong east winds have reverse loaded slopes.
In some areas this wind slab may be sitting on weak surface hoar or facets buried in mid January.
A weak layer buried 100 to 300 cm remains a concern.
Avoid shallow rocky areas where the snow transitions from thick to thin and triggering this layer is more likely.
If triggered the resulting avalanche would be very large and destructive.
Sunday: Skiers were involved in an avalanche in the East Boulder Creek area. Check out This MIN report for more details.
Saturday: One large (size 2) wind slab was reported on a northwest aspect in the alpine.
Operators in the area are still concerned about a weak layer of facets over a crust from early December that has produced large avalanches.
Previous strong winds have scoured terrain at treeline and above on all aspects. Ongoing cold temperatures have softened the surface of wind affected terrain in many areas.
In sheltered terrain 30 to 60 cm of faceted snow overlies a crust and layer of surface hoar from late January.
Another layer of surface hoar was buried near the middle of January and can be found 50 to 100 cm deep.
A weak layer of facets and a crust from early December varies in depth from 100 to 300 cm. This layer remains a concern in this region.
Tuesday Night
Cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature - 8 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature - 6 °C.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 40 to 90 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature - 4 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with up to 10 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature - 2 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
