Avalanche Forecast

Friday night: Few clouds, alpine temperature -12 C, light east wind, no precipitation.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, alpine temperature -8 C, light variable wind, no precipitation.

Sunday: Increasing cloud cover, alpine temperature -6 C, light southerly wind, no precipitation.

Monday: Mostly cloudy, alpine temperature -8 C, southwest wind increasing to moderate, isolated flurries with 2-5 cm of accumulation possible.

Avalanches are decreasing in likelihood, but it still may be possible to trigger wind slabs in isolated pockets in the alpine. This is a great MIN report from Wednesday that helps to paint the picture of these wind slab avalanches.

If you see anything while out in the field this weekend, please consider sharing that information with us and the backcountry community via the Mountain Information Network.

With this week's clear and cold weather, last weekend's storm snow is losing strength, except where it has been drifted into wind slabs in the alpine. Variable winds previously redistributed the 20-30 cm of recent snow into wind slabs that may still be possible to trigger in isolated areas. These slabs could be more reactive where they overly a weak layer of surface hoar (feathery crystals). With few recent field observations, there is uncertainty as to the current distribution and reactivity of these layers. Generally, the prolonged inactive weather pattern has improved snowpack stability in the short term.

Snow line sits around 1200 m, and snow depths range from 80-130 cm at treeline elevations. A variety of crusts from late October are buried deeper in the snowpack (down 50 to 100 cm).