Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy snowfall.
Avalanche activity will increase as the storm rolls in.
Stick to low elevations and gentle terrain with low consequence.
Heavy precipitation, combined with steady strong to extreme wind, will form new reactive storm and wind slabs over old surfaces. Expect these slabs to be most reactive on lee slopes.
No avalanche activity has been reported in the past few days. Poor visibility has restricted field observations.
Looking forward, natural avalanche activity is expected as new snow accumulates and the wind picks up over the coming days.
If you are heading into the backcountry, please share any observations with the Mountain Information Network.
By Wednesday afternoon, an additional 25 to 40 cm will be added to the current snowpack. This overlies old settling snow and hard wind-affected snow on all aspects, including lower elevations below treeline in some areas. Strong to extreme southwest winds will redistribute this new snow into deeper deposits on lee slopes.
On some ridgetops, the previous wind stripped the snow in wind-exposed terrain down to the early-February melt-freeze crust. In wind-sheltered terrain, around 60 to 90 cm of snow sits on top of this crust. It seems well-bonded and is not considered a problem at this time.
The remainder of the snowpack is consolidated with no layers of concern.
Tuesday Night
Cloudy. 15 to 30 cm of snow. 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy. 15 to 25 cm of snow. 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy. 10 to 25 cm of snow. 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Friday
Cloudy. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
