West Slopes Central

Several days of high pressure is gracing us with an inversion of cloudy, cool weather in the lowlands and sunny, warm weather in the mountains. Snow conditions are firm and variable, with plenty of melt and refreeze happening. Most of the snow is locked in place, but keep wet snow avalanches on your mind if you’re traveling on very soft snow surfaces, and stay aware of overhead hazards such as glide cracks and failing cornices. 

Much of the zone consists of a hard snowpack with few avalanche concerns. Your biggest challenge in the backcountry right now is probably traveling across firm and bumpy or variable surfaces. Some areas are melting out, exposing more rocks and trees, and creeks are opening up as well.

At lower elevations, you could find unsupportable, punchy snow. You may find similar surfaces on south-facing slopes as the sun heats them as well. Consider staying off any steep slopes where you’re easily sinking several inches down.  

Tuesday I found a foot-deep knife-hard crust as the surface layer at lower elevations on a north-facing aspect. Travel was challenging, and without crampons I felt there was too much of a slip and fall hazard to continue up the slope. Skiing down was jarring. These conditions, usually common in spring, shows us the stark contrast of snow based on the aspect you’re traveling on.

Sunday, we welcome a reprieve from high pressure. Now is a good time to start thinking about snow surfaces. Low-density snow deposits on upper elevation northerly slopes may be recrystallizing (faceting, or forming weak, sugary snow). Surface hoar could also be present. I found some on the valley bottoms on Tuesday, but not on the adjacent northerly slope. If new snow lands on these weak layers, avalanche conditions could get very touchy. If you’re heading to upper elevation northerly slopes, let us know what you see on the surface. You can submit an observation HERE.