Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

On Monday avalanche activity was reported primarily as several naturally and skier triggered wind slab and storm slabs size 1 to 2 in the alpine and tree line.

There were two reports of persistent slab avalanches running on northerly aspects. One was size 2 explosives triggered fracturing 60-80 cm deep at 2200 m. The other a size 1.5 skier triggered 50 cm deep at 1600 m.

Be aware of potential for step down avalanches as the load increases on buried surface hoar.

10-15 cm of new snow Tuesday night will be redistributed by southwest winds in the alpine and open treeline forming wind slabs in lee features.

A surface hoar layer formed in early December is now buried 40 to 80 cm and is most prevalent between the 1700 to 2200 m elevation bands (see this MIN). We're tracking this layer as the load (and resulting slab) builds above it. We may see reactivity increase if the load above reaches a critical threshold.

Tuesday Night Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

WednesdayCloudy with 15 to 20 mm of snow. 35 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks. 25 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries. 25 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Minimize exposure during periods of heavy loading from new snow and wind.
• Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
• Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.