Good travel conditions and fun skiing can be found in sheltered areas, especially since the recent cold temperatures kept the crowds away. Be cautious in your route selection as large avalanches are still possible.
Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Temperatures were colder in the valley bottoms today than at higher elevations, but overall we are out of the deep freeze experienced this past weekend. With the milder temperatures we expect to have west winds in the strong to extreme range, followed by 15 cm of new snow and continuing extreme winds overnight on Tuesday and into Wednesday.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous sluffs were observed on steep east facing rocky terrain up to size 1.
Snowpack Summary
Approximately 10-15 cm of new snow was received over the weekend. Field tests show this new snow can be triggered with light to moderate loads, such as a skier. The Feb 10th persistent weak layer is still bonding poorly with the upper snowpack. Up to 80 cm of dense snow sits on top of this Feb 10th layer, which continues to produce shears but is supportive for trail breaking. Winds continue to create thin wind slabs in cross-loaded and reverse wind-loaded features at Treeline and above.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.