Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Wind effect is extremely variable

SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries, moderate west wind, alpine temperatures drop to -10 C.SUNDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light northwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 CMONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light northwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.TUESDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries, light to moderate west wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.

On Saturday, the new snow was reactive to skier traffic in steep terrain producing fast moving sluffs and some small (size 1) slab avalanches. Small natural avalanches (20 cm deep) were also reported on north and east aspects.Slab avalanches are currently most likely in wind affected terrain. The key is watching for signs of the new snow becoming reactive, such as cracking, whumpfing, or stiffer deeper pockets of snow.

15-25 cm of snow has fallen in the past few days with strong wind forming deeper deposits at higher elevations. The new snow sits above a layer of large surface hoar crystals and sun crusts, potentially creating touchy slab conditions. In addition to wind loaded slopes, other suspect areas are steep slopes and rolls below 2000 m (where the largest surface hoar exists) and steep south-facing slopes in the alpine (where sun crusts exist).The middle and lower portions of the snowpack are generally well-settled and strong.