It is a good time to be traveling in the mountains, but remember that low danger does not mean no danger. Loose wet avalanche activity should be limited Wednesday, but stubborn old wind slabs and large cornices demand our respect.
Confidence
Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Thursday
Weather Forecast
Wednesday looks to be the last day of rather vanilla weather before a significant change Thursday. The pattern is incredibly dynamic as we move towards the weekend, this is a great time to check out our Mountain Weather Forecast (link below) if you are curious. Suffice to say that Wednesday does not offer much change, but then significant rain/snow and plenty of wind is in store at least through Friday.WEDNESDAY: Broken cloud cover, freezing level holding at 1200 m, moderate southerly wind, trace of precipitation during the day, 5 to 7 mm of precipitation expected Wednesday night. THURSDAY: Overcast, freezing level starting at 1600 m, lowering to 700 m by sundown, strong southerly wind, 20 to 30 mm of precipitation. FRIDAY: Broken cloud cover, freezing level holding around 600 m, light southerly wind, 5 to 8 mm of precipitation possible.
Avalanche Summary
No recent notable avalanches have been reported.
Snowpack Summary
Last week's storm brought up to 15 cm of new snow to the alpine while rain saturated the upper snowpack at treeline and below. Surface conditions on solar aspects and below about 1500 m have been affected by daily melt-freeze cycles. In the limited alpine terrain where the recent precipitation fell as snow, stubborn old wind slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.Below any recent snow accumulations, the overall snowpack is well settled and strong. Cornices loom over many ridge lines. Cornices become more unstable during the day as the temperature rises, especially when they are receiving direct sun.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.