Avalanche Forecast

On Sunday there was a report of a skier-controlled wind slab in the alpine.

A small storm slab was triggered by a skier on an east aspect in the alpine in the Howson Range Saturday.

Over the weekend, up to 20 cm of new snow has fallen on a melt-freeze crust on sunny slopes, or over cold snow on shady slopes in the alpine. In most areas at treeline you will find only a trace of new snow over a crust.

This new snow may have been redistributed by northwest and southwest winds, building wind slabs on lee slopes in isolated areas.

The middle of the snowpack is strong and contains numerous hard crusts. Near the ground, weak faceted crystals exist. There hasn't been avalanche activity on this layer recently, but it remains on our radar as it may become active with abrupt changes to the snowpack, such as rapid loading (heavy snowfall or rain) or prolonged warming.

Monday Night

Clear with cloudy periods, trace accumulation, winds northwest 15 km/h, treeline temperatures -5 °C.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud, no accumulation, winds southerly 15 km/h, treeline temperatures -5 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy, 5 cm accumulation, winds southwest 20 to 30 km/h, treeline temperatures around -5 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy, 5 to 10 cm accumulation, winds southwest 25 km/h gusting to 50, treeline temperatures 0 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.
• Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.