Dangerous slabs lie in the backcountry at the mid and high elevations with depths to five feet. These slabs were formed during recent west winds and could be triggered by a single rider or skier. This may occur even after a slope has been previously skied when a sensitive shallow point or "trigger point" is hit.
Dense surface slabs one to four feet in depth lie upon slick old snow surfaces and faceted snow. These slabs will be most sensitive to larger loads such as snow machines but could still release to the weight of one skier when a weak spot is impacted. Being caught in such a slide is likely to cause serious injury or death.
At the base of the snowpack, weak snow persists on northerly aspects above an elevation of 9,000 feet. In this terrain very dangerous hard slabs could be triggered by the weight of a single person, a snowmobile or by the release of a wind slab avalanche. These very dangerous slabs will run on the ground and have total slab depths to five feet.
Another frigid day is in store on Friday. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the negative teens before rising into the negative single digits during the day. Cloud cover will increase ahead of an approaching short wave which could produce some light, scattered flurries during the day. Westerly ridgetop winds will back to the southwest at 10 to 15 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be CONSIDERABLE on Friday. Backcountry travelers could trigger recently developed wind slabs up to four feet deep in steep, wind loaded terrain. While the likelihood of triggering these slides is decreasing, the consequences remain severe and being caught in a large slide path would likely be unsurvivable. Larger triggers, such as snowmobiles, may be needed to release these slides. However, skiers finding a shallow sweet point connected to deeper snow could also trigger these slides. On northerly aspects above 9,000, these slides could step down to the ground.
