Persistent deep slabs continue to be a concern on steep northerly aspects above an elevation of 9,000 feet. Recent west to northwest winds have also created pockets of wind slab which could be triggered by humans who venture into steep avalanche starting zones, cliff areas and steep chutes where cross loading has occurred. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations.
At the upper elevations pockets of wind slab up to 18 in depth that were formed by west and northwest winds exist and could be human triggered. Isolated pockets of shallow wind slab up to 12 inches in depth may be found in very steep terrain at the mid elevations and could be human triggered.
On steep northerly aspects above an elevation of 9,000 feet deep persistent slabs are still a concern, especially for larger triggers such as snowmobiles. Previous tracks should not be interpreted as a sign of stability. At this point it is unknown if the weight of a single skier or snowboarder on a weak/shallow point could trigger one of these dangerous slabs. This uncertainty and the potential consequences warrant conservative decisions in this terrain.
The dry northwest flow will continue to bring mild temperatures to the area. On Tuesday skies will be mostly sunny with daytime highs rising into the 30s in the mountains. Winds will be westerly at 15 to 25 with gusts to 35 miles per hour.On steep northerly aspects above an elevation of 9,000 feet deep persistent slabs are still a concern, especially for larger triggers such as snowmobiles. Pockets of wind slab one to two feet in depth formed by west and northwest winds also pose a threat to humans who venture into steep avalanche terrain at the upper elevations. These slabs could fail on buried layers of faceted snow. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE above an elevation of 8,500 feet and LOW below that elevation.
