Above treeline, areas continue to hold on wind-drifted snow and will again be the main concern. Look carefully for signs of wind-loaded slopes, evaluate the instabilities in the upper snowpack and make calculated choices on how to avoid wind-loaded areas. Heightened avalanche conditions exist on SE-E-NE steep slopes near and above treeline.
Wind slabs across the zone continue to get deeper and stiffer. As the slab stiffens up, the sensitivity tends to go up as well. There have been 2 reports of observed wind slab avalanches in the backcountry this week. It sounds like both avalanches were naturally triggered.
Moderate winds over the past couple days have changed directions multiple times, creating normal wind loading and reverse loading near ridges. I’ve been up in the Cabinets three times this week and have seen the progression of wind load. Even though the snow and winds have been moderate, it’s been enough to create much bigger cornices on ridges, as well as fill in avalanche starting zones. Some areas just below the cornices could now have 3-4’ deep wind slabs. Yesterday, during explosive control work at Schweitzer, we saw fractures up to a meter deep. The wind slabs are stubborn (difficult to trigger) but are becoming more reactive by the day.
SNOWMOBILERS - I know you’re out there because I see you all in the backcountry! One thing I get asked a lot is “How can I help?” The answer? Make an OBSERVATION on our website! We can all learn from what you see out there. It’s simple and only takes a couple minutes.
LINK: https://www.idahopanhandleavalanche.org/observations#/view
