Overnight snowfall and strong wind are increasing the avalanche hazard, especially in White Pass
Conservative terrain choices and avoiding overhead hazard is strongly recommended.
A buried crust with weak crystals overtop may be overloaded by the new snow snow, triggering larger than expected avalanches.
Snowfall and extreme winds are forecast to build storm slabs overnight Monday. The safest riding will be found on lower angle slopes with no overhead hazard.
The most recent avalanche reports are from last Wednesday, this MIN reported whumping and shooting cracks.
Last Tuesday, a large (size 2) avalanche failed on the persistent weak layer. Click on the photo below for details.
We expect the likelihood of both natural and human-triggered avalanches to increase in White Pass during this stormy period.
5 to 25 cm of new snow accompanied by extreme southerly winds is expected to form fresh storm slabs overnight Monday. Due to the forecast winds, we expect the most reactive storm slabs will be on north-facing slopes. White Pass is expected to get the highest precipitation amounts, with drastically less snow falling further inland.
An additional concern is a persistent weak layer of a crust with overlying facets, and in some cases surface hoar. This interface is currently buried 20 to 30 cm deep and extends up to 1750 m.
Despite the presence of faceted grains in the lower snowpack, there are no current layers of concern below the crust.
Snowpack depths range from about 70 to 180 cm.
Monday Night
Cloudy with 5 to 25 cm of new snow. White Pass is expected to get the highest amounts, with drastically less snow further inland. Extreme south ridgetop winds: 75 to 85 km/h. Treeline temperature 0 °C.
Tuesday
Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. Extreme southwest ridgetop winds: 70 to 90 km/h. Treeline temperature -2 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 50 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 60 to 80 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
