Clearwater

Wind slabs are the primary concern. Watch for pockets of fresh wind slab that may slide easily on a crust.

There have been no new avalanche observations since Sunday when ski cuts and explosives produced a few size 1-2 wind slabs on east aspects at alpine and treeline elevations.

If you are heading into the backcountry, please share any observations with the Mountain Information Network.

5-20 cm of dry snow sits over crusty surfaces at most elevations. At upper elevations, it has been redistributed by wind.

Within the top meter of the snowpack, there may be a few layers of surface hoar, facets, crusts or a combination. These layers appear to vary in their distribution and have not triggered recent avalanches, but they could become reactive in isolated areas as additional snow accumulates above them.

The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated and generally stable.

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
• Keep in mind a buried crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.