Remember to always use safe backcountry travel techniques and good group management. Use caution around cornices and unsupported shallow snowpack areas.
Weather Forecast
Today will start with sunshine! This afternoon the weather will shift to cloudy as a surface low builds, bringing small amounts of precip to Glacier National Park. Convective flurries are possible today with an alpine high of -12 deg and SW winds gusting to 40. Precipitation is forecast to start Wednesday with warming temps and increasing winds.
Snowpack Summary
Where sheltered, surface hoar to 3mm sits on top of a well settled upper snowpack. On South and West aspects a sun/temp crust is just below the surface and is supportive to skis/boards. Below 1500m, a strong temp crust exists on all aspects. The lower snowpack is still facetted and weak from all the cold weather in Dec & Jan.
Avalanche Summary
In the last few days two size 2- 2.5 slab avalanches occurred on the north side of Mt. Macdonald. A size 1 wind slab was accidentally triggered on Glacier Crest aswell. Small sluffs were observed by field teams on Wednesday in steep north aspects at TL, running slow and stopping short.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.