Isolated wind slabs may be lingering near ridgetops and in extreme terrain.
Prepare for changing conditions at various elevations and with sun exposure throughout the day.
Wind slabs may be lingering near ridgetops and in extreme terrain, keep an eye out for wind affect as you travel. Avoid being near or under cornices, especially during the heat of the day.
On Wednesday, explosives triggered a few slab avalanches up to size 1.5 near Golden. Skiers were also able to ski cult small avalanches in the same area. Additionally, a large (size 2) naturally triggered wind slab was observed on a north facing alpine slope near the Bugaboos.
Reports indicate that the recent storm snow is mostly bonding to the underlying crust, but small isolated wind slabs may exist in the alpine.
A cold front earlier in the week delivered variable snowfall amounts across the region. Expect anywhere from 10 to 25 cm of settled storm snow overlying a hard crust on shady aspects in the alpine. In isolated areas this snow may have formed wind slabs.
Steep sunny slopes and lower elevations now have a new surface crust that is expected to turn moist or wet again in the heat of the day.
Below this, the snowpack consists of various melt-freeze crust layers, and the lower snowpack contains old weak layers that are no longer concerning.
Friday Night
Clear. 10 to 20 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Saturday
Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 2100 m.
Sunday
Cloudy with 0 to 8 cm of snow possible. 30 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.
Monday
A mix of sun and cloud. 25 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 2000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
