Terrain sheltered from the wind still holds soft snow. Stiff windslabs are unlikely to avalanche under the weight of a rider, but they can make for challenging riding conditions.
Good backcountry safety and travel habits are still important.
Recent wind direction has been variable so watch for wind loading on a variety of aspects.
Windslabs have been reported to be quite hard, and mostly unreactive to rider traffic. It may still be possible to trigger them with a large load like a cornice fall.
Whumpfing, cracking, and hollow sounds are all signs of instability that should cause you to back off into lower angle or less wind-loaded terrain.
Wednesday Night: Clear. No new snow expected. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Alpine temperatures around -7 °C.
Thursday: A mix of sun and cloud. No new snow expected. Moderate to strong southwest ridgetop wind. Possible temperature inversion could make for temperatures warmer than -5 °C above 2000 m.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. 0-2 cm of snow expected. Strong to extreme southwest ridgetop wind. Temperature inversion breaking down. Alpine high around -7 °C.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy. 0-5 cm of snow expected, and another 2-5 through the day. Moderate to strong southeast ridgetop wind. Alpine high around -8 °C.
We have received no reports of recent avalanche activity.
Surface snow has been extensively wind affected by outflows on Monday followed by strong southwest flow Tuesday, and is very firm in exposed areas.
A shallowly buried crust (around 20 cm deep) extends up to at least 1200 m on all aspects. It appears to be well bonded to surrounding snow, and is beginning to break down. Below this, the mid-pack is generally well-settled and strong in most areas. The basal snowpack consists of weak, sugary facets.
