Fresh snow and strong winds bring potential for new and reactive slabs to form. Watch for changing conditions as you transition into wind affected terrain.
Stick to conservative terrain and verify conditions as you travel.
Expect new snow to be reactive to human triggers. Be especially cautious in wind loaded terrain on north and east facing slopes where snow is likely to be redistributed into larger, sensitive slabs.
At lower elevations, rising temperatures and precipitation may create heavy snow.
No recent avalanches have been reported, but field observations are limited this time of year. We expect natural and human triggered avalanches to have occurred within the new snow, primarily in wind loaded features.
If you head into the backcountry please submit a MIN report! They are super helpful in the early season when snowpack information is limited.
By Saturday morning around 20 cm is likely to have accumulated, adding to the 10-30 cm received this week. Strong to extreme southerly winds will shift this snow into slabs on north and east facing terrain.
New snow may sit over a crust at lower elevations. This crust exists on south facing slopes as well, however overnight winds will likely redistribute snow and expose the crust.
Over 90 cm of snow can be found in the alpine, with wind-loaded areas up to 150 cm deep. Many lower elevation areas remain below threshold for avalanches with early season hazards, however this may change as snow accumulates.
Our field team describes conditions in the Mt Cain area in this MIN report.
Friday Night
Strong southwesterly winds overnight with cloudy skies. 20 cm of snow expected in most areas, with up to 40 cm possible around Sutton Pass and other western slopes. Freezing levels 500-800 m.
Saturday
15-25 cm of new snow. Moderate southerly winds ease over the day. Alpine high temperatures of 0. Freezing level rising to 1000 m, peaking in the afternoon.
Sunday
Clearing skies, no precipitation expected. Winds switch to light northwest. Alpine temperature high of -1. Freezing level around 900 m.
Monday
Mostly clear skies with light northwest winds. No precipitation expected. Alpine temperatures of -1. Freezing levels 800-900m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
