Areas of wind loading near ridges and sharp breaks in terrain are of greatest concern.
Verify conditions and check for signs of instability before entering steep or committing slopes.
Moderate southwest wind is forming fresh wind slabs at upper elevations. In some areas slabs may be more reactive where they overlay surface hoar or a crust.
Jan 4
Very small (0.5) avalanches were reported in the area around sun peaks at lower elevations.
If you head into the backcountry, consider sharing your observations with the Mountain Information Network.
Up to 15 cm of new snow has been accompanied by moderate southwest winds which adds to the 10 to 15 cm that has accumulated over the past few days totalling about 20cm.
This snow may be sitting on a thin crust on steep southerly aspects, as well as surface hoar or a rime crust in isolated areas.
A mid-December crust lies 40–50 cm deep, found up to 2200 m. Additional crusts exist in the mid and lower snowpack, including a mid-November crust with facets above and below, but neither of these layers are currently a concern.
Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. up to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C. Freezing level 700 m.
Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
