Watch for pockets of stiff wind slab at upper elevations from recent winds. These slabs may be in atypical areas due to reverse-loading.
Avoid shallow areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
Expect to find wind slabs at higher elevations. Up to 30 cm of recent snow is available to be redistributed by northeast winds. The primary concern is for the south and west facing terrain features but recent winds have varied throughout the region - look for wind affected snow on all aspects as you approach or descend from ridgelines.
Faceted grains make up the lower snowpack and are gaining strength very slowly. Although deep persistent slab avalanches have not been reported in the region for some time there is concern that this layer remains an active avalanche problem in the northern, data-sparse parts of the region. In these areas, this layer could still be triggered with a heavy load, like a cornice fall, machine trigger, or in areas with a thinner snowpack.
On Saturday several thin wind slabs, up to size 1.5, were reported to be reactive to natural and human triggers.
On Friday, small storm slab and loose dry avalanches were reported during the storm.
Please continue to share any observations or photos on the Mountain Information Network.
15 cm of storm snow has been redistributed by northeasterly winds in the alpine and at treeline. New snow sits over a crust on southerly slopes, previously wind affected surfaces in exposed areas and over a layer of surface hoar in sheltered areas.
A crust and facet layer from mid January, 2 to 15 cm thick at treeline sits 50 to 90 cm deep. Where it's thickest, it caps the settled and consolidated mid-snowpack.
The lower snowpack contains weak and facetted grains from November. The total snowpack depth ranges between 120 and 250 cm.
Sunday Night
Clear skies. Northwesterly ridgetop winds 20 km/h. Alpine low temperatures of -20°C
Monday
Sunny with clouds increasing in the afternoon. Light northerly ridgetop winds switch to moderate westerly winds in the afternoon. Alpine high of -16°C.
Tuesday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries, trace accumulations. Westerly ridgetop winds 40 km/h. Alpine high of -14°C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries, trace accumulations. Westerly ridgetop winds 40 km/h. Alpine high of -10°C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
