Wind affected snow at upper elevations is the primary concern. Shooting cracks and whumphing are good indicators of wind slabs.
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures near -8 and ridgetop winds light from the northeast.THURSDAY: Cloudy with sunny breaks. Isolated flurries with an alpine high of -8 and light ridgetop winds from the northeast.FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Trace of new snow and alpine temperatures near -9. Ridgetop winds light from the northeast.
Avalanche Summary
On Monday, a natural ice fall was reported. It was approximately 20 m wide and ran 400 m not pulling a slab avalanche from the slope. A few skier controlled slab avalanches up to size 1 were also reported from the immediate lee of ridgelines and steep convex rolls. These wind slabs were 10-30 cm deep. Snow that is unconsolidated is sluffing from steeper terrain features.
Snowpack Summary
Recent switching wind has formed isolated pockets of slabs in exposed terrain on most aspects, while the southerly aspects are currently most reactive. New surface hoar formation up to 10 mm can be found on most aspects in sheltered locations from the wind, while the steeper southerly aspects likely have a thin crust from the recent solar input. The top 20 to 40 cm of the snowpack consists of low density snow that is gradually bonding to old hard surfaces including crusts and wind-packed snow. Low-density snow may sluff easily from these hard surfaces. The lower snowpack is strong and settled.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.