Dangerous avalanche conditions persist. Seek out terrain sheltered from wind and avoid overhead hazard during periods of strong winds or heavy snowfall.
Ongoing snowfall and wind continue to stress buried weak layers in the upper snowpack. Facets, surface hoar, and crusts in the snowpack may be more reactive, producing widely propagating avalanches.
Ongoing storm slab formation is widespread, particularly in wind-loaded terrain, where slabs are deeper and more sensitive to triggering.
A persistent slab avalanche was triggered by a skier on Sunday in the Shames area. See the photo below for more details.
Another size 2 skier-triggered avalanche was reported in the Shames backcountry in this MIN on Monday.
Natural avalanches remain possible, especially during periods of heavy snowfall, strong winds, or rapid warming. Human-triggered avalanches will remain likely until snow and wind ease and the snowpack has time to stabilize.
Up to 100 cm of storm snow has accumulated in the past week. In exposed terrain, this snow has been heavily wind-affected by strong southwest winds. In wind-sheltered terrain, the recent snow remains generally low density and may be sitting on a weak layer of surface hoar or a crust.
Variable crust, facet, and/or surface hoar layers, buried throughout February, may exist within the upper 150 cm of the snowpack. These layers are most concerning near and below treeline, especially where the snowpack is shallow.
Below these layers, the remaining snowpack is generally well settled and well bonded.
Tuesday Night
Cloudy. 4 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
Wednesday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
