Watch for wind slab as you gain elevation. Keep it conservative, even a small accident can have big consequences during periods of cold temps and short days.
Previous northeast winds will likely have formed wind slab on south and west aspects at treeline and above. On south facing terrain these wind slabs could sit over a thin sun crust. In sheltered terrain at treeline wind slabs could sit on a layer of surface hoar. Triggering a wind slab over surface hoar or a crust could result in a larger avalanche.
No new avalanches have been observed in the past couple days.
If you are heading into the backcountry please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network report.
Northerly winds have redistributed recent snow into wind slabs on south and east aspects and have cross loaded others. On south facing slopes wind slab could have formed over a sun crust. A layer of surface hoar down around 30cm can be found in sheltered terrain on all aspects up to 2000m, This layer could be a concern where wind slabs form above.
A weak layer consisting of facets and a crust formed in November is now buried around 60cm deep. This layer has produced large avalanches in the past week and continues to show reactivity in snowpack tests in the neighboring forecast region.
In general, the snowpack is quite faceted with average snowpack depths of around 100 cm at treeline.
Tuesday Night
Flurries bringing trace amounts of new snow with Moderate westerly winds decreasing to light by the morning. Low of -32 at 1800m.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny with no new snow expected. Light to moderate northeast winds and a high of -29 at 1800m.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with no new snow expected. Light variable winds and a high of -25 at 1800m.
Friday
Cloudy with trace amounts of new snow expected. Southwest winds increasing to extreme at ridge top. High of -13 at 1800m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
