Avalanche Forecast

High -

WEDNESDAY OVERNIGHT: Light snowfall amounts near 5 cm overnight with light southwest winds. THURSDAY: New snow 5-10 cm by the end of the day. Ridgetop winds light from the West and alpine temperatures near -9 FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Ridgetop winds light from the northeast and alpine temperatures near -10. SATURDAY: Sunny with cloudy periods. Ridgetop winds light from the northeast and alpine temperatures near -13.

On Wednesday, explosive control produced one size 1.5 wind slab from a steep West aspect and a few human triggered wind slabs up to size 1 were also reactive on southerly aspects. On Tuesday, a few wind slab avalanches up to size 1.5 were reported. These were easily triggered by the weight of a skier on S-SW aspects 1900 m and above. The slabs were 30-50 cm thick and running up to 500 m in length. Snow that is unconsolidated is sluffing from steeper terrain features. Check out this recent MIN report from GIN Peak. Even small terrain features at treeline have wind slab problems. Heads up!

Recent switching wind has formed pockets of wind slab in exposed terrain on most aspects but currently more reactive to human triggers on southerly aspects. New surface hoar formation can be found on most aspects in sheltered locations from the wind, while the steeper southerly aspects likely have a thin crust from solar input. The top 20 to 40 cm of the snowpack consists of low density snow that is gradually bonding to old hard surfaces including crusts and wind-packed snow. The low-density snow may sluff easily from steeper terrain features. The lower snowpack is strong and settled.