Avalanche Forecast

Expect some enhanced snowfall amounts in the southern part of the region Wednesday through Thursday as a warm and wet air mass rises from the South and collides with the predominant colder air mass sliding down from the North.

Tuesday Night: Trace of new snow with strong ridgetop wind from the SW. Alpine temperatures near -13 and freezing levels at the valley bottom.

Wednesday: New snow throughout the day, heavy at times with 10-15 cm accumulation. Strong to extreme ridgetop wind and alpine temperatures near -5. Freezing levels 1000 m.

Thursday: Heavy snowfall amounts, 10-20 cm accompanied by strong SW winds. Alpine temperatures near -5 and freezing levels rising to 1100 m.

Friday: Mostly cloudy with some flurries. Gusty ridgetop winds from the South and freezing levels dropping back to the valley bottom. 

No updated reports by Tuesday afternoon. 

On Sunday, operators reported ski cutting and explosive storm slab results to size 1 in the alpine and treeline.

New snow and wind will likely build reactive storm slabs. Loose-dry sluffing may be seen from steep terrain features.

New snow and wind will likely build reactive storm slabs through Friday and older wind slabs at upper elevations below ridgecrest may continue to be reactive to human triggers. Low-density storm snow exists in sheltered terrain. 

Below this new snow, 40-60cm of consolidated snow sits over a substantial crust that formed in early December. This crust is 10-30 cm thick and can be found down 60-120 cm. It is present across aspects below 2300m. A thin layer of weak facets (sugary snow) can be found above this crust that has demonstrated reactivity in snowpack tests. This problem is particularly hard to predict and tricky to manage. For this reason wide, conservative terrain margins and disciplined backcountry travel techniques will be very important. Get more details and photos in our forecaster blog. 

A late October facet/crust layer of concern sits at the bottom of the snowpack above 1900m. Although this layer has been trending less reactive, it remains on our radar.

The snowpack depth at treeline is around 115-200 cm. The deepest snowpack can be found near the Bugaboos. 

• Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
• Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a persistent slab.