At the upper elevations isolated pockets of wind slab exist. These shallow slabs are relatively small but pose a hazard to humans who venture into cliff areas, onto hanging snowfields, into very steep couloirs or other extreme terrain features. Mostly stable snow exist and avalanches are unlikely in less radical terrain and at the mid and lower elevations.
At the upper elevations isolated pockets of hard wind slab six to 18 inches in depth could be triggered by humans in steep avalanche prone terrain. Once triggered small, hard slabs could quickly accelerate and carry humans over cliffs or significant distances in very steep terrain. The potential for humans to trigger these slabs will increase as the day warms.
Dry conditions with strong temperature gradients will dominate the weather. On Saturday skies will again be clear with temperatures in the teens and 20s in the mountains and in the negative single digits to teens in the valleys. Winds will be west-northwest at 10 to 15 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be LOW. At the upper elevations isolated pockets of shallow, hard slab could be human triggered on very steep slopes.
