Avalanches are possible in areas where new snow is deeper and affected by the wind.
Avoid areas that show signs of instability like recent avalanches and shooting cracks.
Investigate for wind-loaded pockets, especially around ridges and open bowls.
A currently unreactive surface hoar layer is buried 30 to 70 cm. We are tracking this layer as reactivity may increase as more snow loads into a slab above.
On Saturday and Sunday, explosives control work and skier traffic triggered storm slab and loose dry avalanches to size 1.5, averaging 20 to 30 cm deep. These avalanches were all in terrain steeper than 35 degrees, and on northerly aspects in the treeline and alpine.
10 to 30 cm fresh snow accumulated over the weekend and was redistributed by southerly winds in the alpine and open treeline which formed slabs in lee features. This snow covers older snow in most terrain and surface hoar in sheltered locations.
A surface hoar layer is now buried 30 to 70 cm and is most prevalent from 1700 to 2200 m (see this MIN). We're tracking this layer as the load (and resulting slab) builds above it. We may see reactivity increase when the load above reaches a critical threshold. Below 1600 m on solar slopes a crust is at this interface.
There are no deeper layers of concern.
Monday night
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Wednesday
Snow, 15-30 cm. 30 to 60 km/h northwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Thursday
Partly cloudy. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
