Avalanche Forecast

On Sunday, wind slabs were triggerable by explosives. We expect the new storm snow to be sensitive to rider and natural triggers, with increased reactivity and size in wind affected terrain.

If you are out and about in the mountains, please consider posting your observations to the MIN.

By Tuesday morning, storm totals are expected to reach 30-50 cm throughout this region. Higher elevations are likely heavily wind affected, while lower elevations may receive mostly rain.

A layer of faceted snow or surface hoar sits in the upper snowpack, with a crust from mid November buried 60–90 cm deep. Lower in the snowpack, there are several crusts, and in some areas, weak, sugary facets can be found near the ground.

Snowpack depths range from 80–150 cm and thin rapidly at lower elevations. Many slopes at treeline and below may reach threshold for avalanche activity with this storm.

Monday Night
Cloudy. 20 to 35 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.

Tuesday
Mostly sunny. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 20 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
• Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
• Be cautious of buried obstacles, especially below treeline.