New snow and moderate southwest winds will build fresh slabs at higher elevations.
Deep instabilities are best managed through conservative terrain selection.
Low-density snow is accumulating over faceted surfaces. Watch for areas where new snow has been affected by the wind, it may have more slab properties and be reactive to human triggering.
The lower snowpack is characterized by facets and depth hoar near the base of the snowpack in most alpine areas. The likelihood of triggering a deep persistent slab is low, however the consequence of doing so is high.
On Monday, natural wind slab and loose dry avalanches were reported throughout the region to size 1.5
On Sunday, explosives control produced a few, size 3, deep persistent slab avalanches on reloaded bed surfaces.
If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
By morning 4 to 8 cm of snow has accumulated over faceted surfaces in many areas. In exposed terrain at treeline and above new snow overlies old wind slabs and wind-affected surfaces.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally weak with several layers of note. Of greatest concern are weak facets and/or depth hoar located at the bottom of the snowpack, particularly in alpine terrain.
Snowpack depths at treeline range from 70 to 160 cm.
Tuesday
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, 2 to 4 cm of snow, west switching to southwest alpine wind 15 to 25 km/h, treeline temperature -14 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered flurries, 4 to 6 cm of snow, southeast alpine wind 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -17 °C.
Thursday
A mix of sun and cloud with no new precipitation, northeast alpine wind 10 to 25 km/h, treeline temperature -20 °C.
Friday
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, trace amounts of snow, southwest alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -15 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
