With the sun possibly making an appearance over the next couple of days and avalanche danger low, we could be tempted to hit bigger terrain. Keep in mind that isolated avalanche problems still exist and maintain good backcountry travel habits.
This weekend could feel like a time to push into more extreme terrain. Pockets of wind slab likely still exist and even small avalanches can have serious consequences in places like this. Assess your run entries with care.
Thursday night: Partly cloudy. Flurries possible. Light winds from the south. -8°C
Friday: A mix of sun and clouds. No precipitation. Light, variable winds. A high of -2°C and a low of -8°C.
Saturday: A mix of sun and clouds. No precipitation. Light winds from the south building to moderate in the late afternoon. A high of 0°C and a low of -5°C.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy. Up to 10cm of new snow. Moderate winds from the southwest. A high of -1°C and a low of -5°C
Our field team has observed a number of avalanches this week. Soft slab avalanches to size 2 were reported. Wet loose avalanches on solar aspects were also reported to size 1. Loose dry avalanches were reported from steeper, sheltered alpine features. Check out this MIN for some great details.
15-30cm of soft snow sits on top of very firm surfaces in White Pass. This snow has been collected as soft wind slab in north and northeast facing features in the alpine. There was also an avalanche cycle earlier in the week that resulted in much of this new snow ending up at the bottom of slopes. That being said, good quality riding exists were this snow has bonded to underlying surfaces and has escaped the suns impact. The best riding exists in moderate and low angle slopes at upper tree line and alpine elevations.
The sun we likely come out for periods of time this weekend and warm things up a little. Pay attention to overhead hazard during these warm periods. Cornices can start to become sensitive when this happens.
The middle snowpack is firm, well settled, and bonded and is effectively bridging the weak, sugary crystals that exist at the bottom of the snowpack.
Areas north of the White Pass such as Paddy Peak, Tutshi, and Powder Valley continue to host a wind smashed and scoured landscape.
