Avalanche hazard will increase today as freezing levels rise. A variety of surfaces will be changing rapidly, pay close attention to conditions as you travel.
Weather Forecast
Light precip is forecast today with freezing levels rising to 1400 m and ridge top winds SW-15. 5-10 cm of snow is forecast overnight as the freezing level falls to 1200m. Isolated flurries continue Sunday with alpine temps around -3. More sunny periods on Monday with freezing levels around Rogers pass elevation.
Snowpack Summary
On shaded and northerly aspects dry snow exists above 1500m. Soft wind loaded pockets may have formed with moderate SW winds. On solar aspects breakable sun crusts exist, and overlie a series of crusts in the top meter which react with hard planar results in tests. The Feb10 layer is down ~2m, shallower in thin areas, and continues to be a concern.
Avalanche Summary
On Thursday, skiers reported easily triggering small size 1-1.5 slabs, where the storm snow failed on convexities and unsupported slopes. On Wed, loose moist avalanches triggered by skiers when a bit of sunshine provided a lot of warmth. These avalanches ran fast and and far, into mature timber, with some growing to size 2.5.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Saturday
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.