Avalanche Danger will be CONSIDERABLE in areas that received more than 20 cm of recent snow.
Start with conservative terrain and watch for signs of instability.
Human triggered avalanches are possible where a cohesive slab has formed above a persistent weak layer of surface hoar and/or crust buried 30 to 70 cm deep.
15 to 20 cm of low density new snow combined with moderate northwesterly wind has built fresh storm slabs.
On Friday, several small size 1 loose dry and storm slab avalanches were triggered by riders in the Lizard Range.
On Thursday, a small naturally triggered wind slab 5 to 15 cm deep was observed in a fan feature in the Lizard Range.
If you head into the backcountry consider submitting a MIN post!
Up to 20 cm of new storm snow is sitting on 30 to 70 cm of faceted old snow overlying a weak layer formed in late January. This weak layer is a crust on sun-exposed slopes and a layer of surface hoar on all other aspects. Exposed terrain in the alpine and treeline is variably wind-affected, creating a stiffer slab above the weak layer. In turn, the stiffer slab may be easier to trigger under the weight of a human. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled with no other layers of concern.
Friday Night
Cloudy with isolated flurries. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 15 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with flurries up to 5 cm. 5 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Monday
A mix of sun and clouds. 15 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
