Around 20 inches of snow containing two inches of snow water equivalent fell between Friday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Strong westerly to northwesterly ridgetop winds accompanied this snowfall, creating wind slabs on leeward slopes. These slabs lie upon good sliding surfaces and could be triggered by backcountry travelers in steep, wind loaded terrain to depths of two feet.
Faceted snow persists throughout the snowpack on a variety of aspects. Recent snowfall has increased the load on these weak layers. If triggered, these slabs could release to the ground with depths of two to three feet.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Mostly clear skies and inverted temperatures will continue on Friday. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the mid teens before rising to near 30 during the day. Valley lows will be around zero before rebounding into the upper 20s. Westerly ridgetop winds will range from 10 to 20 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE on Friday. Similar slides to today's tragic event are possible in steep, wind loaded terrain. Recently developed wind slabs up to 30 inches deep rest upon good sliding surfaces and could be triggered by backcountry travelers on similar avalanche prone slopes. Faceted snow also persists throughout the snowpack and failure could occur on these deeper layers with slab depths up to four feet. Mostly clear skies and inverted temperatures may make these slides more susceptible to failure in the afternoon on sunlit aspects at the upper elevations. While the likelihood of triggering these slides is decreasing, the consequences remain high. Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully and identify features of concern.
