Regions
Northwest Inland.
Increasing freezing levels and sunny skies are heating the snowpack, with the most warming and highest danger around midday. The best riding will be in areas sheltered from the wind effect and sun, without any overhead exposure.
Confidence
Moderate - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain
Weather Forecast
MONDAY: Mostly sunny, light to moderate southerly winds, alpine temperature 0 C, freezing level rising to 2000 m.TUESDAY: Sunny, light to moderate southeasterly winds, alpine temperature 2 C, freezing level 2200 m.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with light snowfall, accumulation 5 cm, light easterly winds, alpine temperature 0 C, freezing level 1600 m.
Avalanche Summary
Newly formed wind slabs were reactive to skiers and natural activity on Saturday, up to size 1 in direct lee features at treeline. Loose snow was also noted in steep terrain features.
Snowpack Summary
Sustained southerly winds have produced wind slabs in lee features. This overlies a sun crust on solar aspects and a surface hoar and sugary facet layer on sheltered, shady aspects. Expect to find a melt-freeze crust or moist snow below around 1400 m.A surface hoar and crust layer from January is buried around 80 to 140 cm. This layer still has the potential to be triggered from a thin snowpack spot, or with a large trigger like a cornice fall.It is unlikely, but may be possible to trigger very large avalanches on facets at the bottom of the snowpack in steep, rocky, and shallow snowpack areas or with large triggers.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.