Watch for cornices and wind slabs near ridgetops.
Lingering wind slabs may remain reactive to human triggers. Use caution when transitioning into wind affected terrain.
Cornices are large and looming along many ridgelines, and have likely grown with the recent wind.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Cloudy, 40 km/h west wind, treeline temperatures drop to -7 C.
MONDAY: Cloudy with light flurries in the afternoon with trace accumulations, 40 km/h west wind, treeline temperatures around -4 C.
TUESDAY: Scattered flurries with up to 5 cm of new snow, 20 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -4 C.
WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud with some light flurries, 20 km/h west wind, treeline temperatures around -4 C.
Reports from Saturday included a few isolated avalanches with some size 1-2 cornice failures, one size 2 wind slab on a southeast aspect, and one size 2 wet loose avalanches on a south-facing slope.
Small wind slabs formed by light amounts of recent snow and southwesterly winds may linger below alpine ridgetops. A firm crust exists at lower elevations. Cornices are large and looming at this time of year.
Buried 70-120 cm. deep, a spotty layer of surface hoar may exist on sheltered north aspects, but no recent avalanches have been reported on this layer.
The lower snowpack is reported as well settled and strong in most areas. However, weak facets exist at the base of the snowpack in the more shallow snowpack zones within much of the region and have the potential to be triggered on steep, rocky slopes with a shallow or thin to thick snowpack; especially with large loads such as a cornice fall.
