Strong solar inputs Tuesday will weaken the snowpack on southerly aspects. Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
Strong solar inputs and upto 20cm of recent storm snow will likely produce loose wet avalanches on Southerly aspects. Pinwheeling and melting snow near rock are good indicators that the snowpack is being affected by solar radiation.
The lower snowpack consists of several weak layers that remain a concern. A combination of basal facets, and crusts are still possible to trigger. Give careful consideration to overhead hazard as large avalanches may run into lower-angle terrain. Avoid big steep terrain features and places where large triggers could impact the slopes below. Be cautious in thin or rocky areas, where triggering the basal weakness is more likely.
Recent storm snow has been producing loose dry avalanches on steep terrain in the alpine. In addition, one new natural size 3 deep persistent slab was observed on the east side of HWY 93N Monday
On Saturday, two skier-triggered avalanches were reported. One on Massive Mountain and the other near Observation Sub Peak. These show that human triggering of various buried layers is still possible.
5-20 cm of storm snow sits over buried temperature crusts to 1500 m, sun crusts to ridgetop on solar aspects, and facets on shaded slopes. The midpack in this area has several crust and facet layers 30-110 cm down, that remain a concern in steep terrain. The bottom of the snowpack consists of weak basal facets in many areas, with sudden test failures still occurring.
A ridge of high pressure will bring clear skies to the region. Overnight alpine temps for Monday and Tuesday will be near -20 with daytime highs climbing to 0 at 2000m. Winds will remain light to moderate. Though temps will be cold overnight, strong solar inputs throughout the day will likely cause the upper snowpack to deteriorate.
