Watch for new snow and southwest winds building fresh thin wind slabs that may be reactive to skier traffic in north and east facing terrain through the day.
Strong southwest winds and 10 cm of fresh snow will create fresh wind slabs in lee north and east facing terrain. Watch for wind slabs formed by last week's storm snow and southeast winds as they may linger on north and west facing terrain features.
A weak layer of surface hoar and/or faceted grains around a hard crust sit in the mid snowpack. This layer is buried around 80 cm in the eastern portions of the region and up to 200 cm around White Pass and Haines Pass.
This layer has previously produced widely propagating avalanches in alpine terrain and it is capable of being remotely triggered from a distance. The most likely area for riders to trigger it is in wind-sheltered, north-facing terrain, and in rocky terrain where the snowpack is thin.
No new avalanches were reported in the region on Monday. Backcountry users may see evidence of a large avalanche cycle from the weekend as they travel through the terrain. These avalanches may have occurred during last week's storm or due to solar input and elevated freezing levels through the weekend.
On Sunday, a suspected skier triggered avalanche was reported. This was a size 1 storm slab avalanche that likely occurred on Saturday.
If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.
Warm temperatures and strong winds have redistributed 50 cm of storm snow creating hard wind affected surfaces in alpine and exposed treeline terrain. This overlies previously wind affected snow (sastrugi) in exposed areas and faceted snow in sheltered features.
A buried weak layer of surface hoar can be found about 80 cm deep in Powder Valley, Tutshi, and Paddy Peak areas, 150 to 200 cm around White Pass. This layer is most prominent on northerly slopes sheltered from the wind. On other aspects, this layer is a hard melt-freeze crust with weak facets around it. This layer has been most problematic in alpine terrain.
The remainder of the middle of the snowpack is consolidated and strong. Weak faceted grains are found near the base of the snowpack, particularly in thin snowpack areas.
Tuesday Night
Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries, 3-10 cm accumulation. Strong southwest ridgetop winds. Alpine temperature low -8°C. Freezing levels valley bottom.
Wednesday
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, 2 cm accumulations. Strong south ridgetop winds. Alpine temperature high -6°C. Freezing levels 500 m.
Thursday
Partly cloudy with isolated flurries, 2 cm accumulations. Moderate southeast ridge winds. Alpine temperature high -5°C. Freezing levels 700 m.
Friday
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, trace cm accumulations. Light south ridge winds. Alpine temperature high -7°C. Freezing levels 600 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
