Avalanche Forecast

No new avalanches were reported over the weekend.

Last week several natural wind slab avalanches were reported up to size 1.5. One particular avalanche of note was a wind slab that stepped down to a layer deeper in the snowpack, producing a size 2 avalanche on a wind-affected slope at treeline.

If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Approximately 10 to 20 cm of recent snow has been redistributed by variable winds (cold, northerly outflows followed by strong southerly winds). New snow sits over old wind-affected surfaces and faceted crystals, which may increase reactivity as it may take longer than usual to bond.

In sheltered areas, up to 50 cm of low-density snow sits on a decomposing rain crust up to 1650 m.

In the lower snowpack, two surface hoar layers exist and have become unlikely to trigger. The potential remains for small avalanches on the surface to step down to these deeper layers.

Sunday Night

Cloudy with trace snow amounts, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday

Cloud with no precipitation, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with trace snow amounts, southwest alpine winds 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature - 5 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with trace snow amounts, south alpine wind 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
• Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.
• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.