Assess for storm slabs before committing to steep or high-consequence terrain, especially during periods of strong wind and snowfall.
Storm slabs will be more reactive at or near ridge crests on north through east faces where wind deposited snow will be thicker.
Use caution when encountering moist or wet snow in steep areas or gullies.
On Wednesday several small natural and rider-triggered wind slab avalanches were observed in mountains northeast of Hazelton.
On Tuesday, a small (size 1.5) naturally triggered wind slab suspected to be a day old, was observed out of a steep north-facing alpine chute in the Hankin-Evelyn area.
The potential for triggering avalanches is likely to increase with the forecast precipitation, warm temperatures and wind.
At treeline elevations and below, the upper snowpack is moist or wet due to warm temperatures and rain. 25-40 cm of new snow has accumulated over the last few days creating a storm slab. On north and east faces these slabs are likely to be thicker due to recent winds.
In the lower snowpack, a crust formed in early January as well as two deeper surface hoar layers exist. These layers have become unlikely to trigger, but there is potential for small avalanches to overload these deeper layers triggering a larger step-down avalanche.
Friday Night
Cloudy with 2-5 cm of snow / light rain, southwest alpine wind 50-60 km/h, treeline temperature 0°C, freezing level 1000m.
Saturday
Cloudy with 2-9 cm of new snow / or light rain, southwest alpine wind 40-60 km/h, treeline temperature high 1°C, freezing level rising to 1500 m.
Sunday
Cloudy with trace to 1-3 cm of new snow / or light rain, southwest alpine wind 30-40 km/h, treeline temperature 3°C, freezing level rising to 1800 m.
Monday
Cloudy with 2-5 cm of new snow / or light rain, southeast alpine wind 30- 40 km/h, treeline temperature 1°C, freezing level 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
