Keep hunting for sheltered snow to avoid lingering wind slab hazards and to find the best skiing and riding conditions.
Recent snow and extreme southwesterly winds have created wind slabs in many locations, even open areas below treeline. These may still be reactive to the weight of a person or machine.
The same conditions formed fragile new cornice growth.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. Light west winds.
SUNDAY: Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing under 5 cm of new snow. Light southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -13.
MONDAY: Cloudy. Light southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -12.
TUESDAY: Cloudy. Light southeast winds. Alpine high temperatures around -13.
On Tuesday, our field team reported widespread wind effect at all elevations, creating fragile cornices and reactive wind slabs on north and east facing slopes below ridgetops. MIN report HERE. Reports since that time have highlighted widespread wind effect throughout the region.
On Monday our field team observed some size 2 natural avalanches on a north facing alpine feature east of Crescent Spur. These likely ran over last weekend.
30-50 cm of recent snow and extreme southwest winds have created large, fragile cornices and widespread wind effect in many locations, even open areas below treeline.
Underneath this snow you are likely to find a hard melt-freeze crust that can be found up to about 1600 m. You may also find a weak layer of buried surface hoar in isolated, sheltered locations below treeline. There is some concern for slabs reacting to the weight of a person or machine on steep slopes where this buried surface hoar exists.
Around 60 to 130 cm of snow rests above another weak layer buried in early-December. On Jan 14th our field team found it in the Holmes area. Depending on location, the buried weak layer is composed of surface hoar and/or a crust/facet combination. Reports suggest that this layer has become dormant in much of the region except perhaps for the Pine Pass area.
