Be cautious as you transition into wind effected terrain.
It is still possible for small avalanches to step down to weak layers deep in the snowpack and produce large destructive avalanches.
Expect deeper and more reactive deposits on north-facing slopes. Wind slab avalanches may step down to weak layers deeper in the snowpack and create very large avalanches.
New snow and wind will stress weak layers. Surface hoar and facets buried in the upper snowpack have produced recent avalanches. Large loads or step-downs could trigger layers buried deeper in the snowpack.
Several natural persistent slab avalanches up to size 3 were reported on Friday, failing on the mid-March or early March surface hoar layers.
40-90 cm of recent snow is being redistributed by variable winds. This snow fell on previously wind-affected surfaces and crusts on steep south-facing terrain.
Three layers of concern currently exist in the upper-mid snowpack. Surface hoar that formed in mid-March can be found 65 to 85 cm below the snow surface. Below this, another layer of surface hoar that formed in early March can be found at a depth of 90 to 125 cm. Additionally, a layer of facets, surface hoar, and/or a crust from mid-February is buried 115 to 195 cm deep.
The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated, and there are no current concerns.
Sunday Night
Cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Monday
Mostly cloudy. 20 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing levels rise to 1300 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.Freezing levels rise to 1300 m.
Wednesday
Cloudy. Up to 10cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0°C. Freezing levels rise to 1600 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
