A buried crust associated with faceted snow remains a concern. Carefully assess steep lines for signs of instability.
Recent snow has buried a widespread crust in the upper snowpack, with weak facets forming above or below. This is a particular concern on steep slopes with a cohesive slab on the surface that could fail on this layer or step down to the crust.
Several skier-triggered avalanches (size 1 to 2) have been reported since Wednesday. These avalanches have failed on a crust/facet combination down roughly 30 to 40 cm from the surface, in steep treeline and alpine terrain.
Up to 20 cm of recent heavy, dense snow has buried various old surfaces, including sun crusts on south-facing slopes and hard previously wind-affected surfaces in exposed terrain. Snow surfaces remain generally moist below treeline.
A widespread crust formed in early February exists down roughly 30 to 50 cm. In many areas, small, weak faceted grains have formed just above or below this crust.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Saturday
Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Sunday
Cloudy with 0 to 15 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Monday
Mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
