Avalanche danger may spike on slopes receiving direct sun. Avoid travelling on or underneath sun-baked terrain.
Confidence
Fair - Due to variable snowpack conditions
Weather Forecast
Saturday-Monday: Mainly sunny with clear skies and light winds. Alpine temperatures near -5, dropping overnight.
Avalanche Summary
Natural cornice fall triggered size 1-2.5 slabs within recent storm snow on Thursday. Skiers also triggered wind loaded slopes to size 2. Intense wind-loading triggered several wind slabs, mainly on north aspects at alpine and treeline elevations, on Wednesday. Skiers also triggered size 1-2 storm/wind slabs.
Snowpack Summary
Recent snowfall was redistributed by very strong SE to SW winds, leaving wind slabs 30 cm to 1 m deep on many lee terrain features. Subsequent NW winds may have caused some reverse loading - so keep an eye out for wind slabs on all aspects. The upper snowpack structure is highly variable. On sunny aspects (and all aspects at low elevations), a sun/melt-freeze crust is now buried about 30 cm deep, while on high elevation shady aspects, 50-100 cm snow overlies an older melt-freeze crust. Mid and lower snowpack layers are well bonded.
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.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.