Regions
Northwest Inland.
Sheltered areas offer the best and safest riding, as new snow and wind has likely formed reactive slabs at upper elevations.
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY NIGHT: Clear with cloudy periods, moderate east wind, alpine temperatures drop to -18 C.SUNDAY: Sunny, moderate northeast wind, alpine high temperatures around -15 C.MONDAY: Sunny, strong northeast wind, alpine high temperatures around -13 C.TUESDAY: Sunny, strong northeast wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported, but the new snow has likely formed fresh wind slabs at upper elevations. Loose dry sluffing is also possible in steep terrain.A few small wind slab avalanches were triggered by skiers and naturally on Wednesday. They were on all aspects, in steep terrain, and at treeline and alpine elevations. The slabs were generally 10 to 20 cm deep.
Snowpack Summary
The storm that began on Thursday delivered 15 to 30 cm of fluffy low density snow by Saturday morning. Winds are expected to shift from west to east over the weekend, meaning that new wind slabs will likely exist on varied aspects, as well as in cross-loaded terrain features. In sheltered areas at and below treeline, the new snow has buried pockets of feathery surface hoar crystals and soft, faceted snow.In the south of the region, the lower snowpack is well-settled. In the north of the region, around 50 cm of snow may overly a weak layer of surface hoar or faceted grains.
Problems
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.