Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Steep, rocky, thinly covered upper elevation terrain where the wind has sculpted the snow is where you are most likely to trigger a slide today. Relatively small wind slabs may be reactive to your weight. Noticing stiffer pockets of snow or cracks shooting out from your skis/machine are indicators you have found a slab. Larger avalanches running on deeper weak layers in the snowpack are unlikely, but if triggered would be consequential. 

Saturday's storm snow fell on a variable snowpack in the throes of a spring transition. The snowpack did a lot of melting and settling during the 10-day string of hot weather that was ended by this storm. Thick, icy crusts formed at the snow surface on all slopes that face the sun. Water was pushed deeply into the snowpack in these areas. Shaded slopes at middle and upper elevations remained cool, dry and largely crust-free.

The new snow fell on a variety of surfaces. Before this storm, the most concerning surfaces that we observed were on shaded middle and upper elevation slopes where slick, wind-polished surfaces have undergone some faceting. Without much snow for ammunition, the slabs you find today will generally be isolated and relatively small. Pay attention to how much new snow you are moving through. If the snow quickly becomes deeper, stiffer, and more dense, you have found a wind slab. Look for cracking in these slabs as a sign of instability, and consider the consequences of getting tossed downhill in the terrain you are playing in. In sheltered terrain, small loose snow avalanches may be easy to trigger and may run downslope quickly on the stiff crusts underneath. Extended periods of sunshine will melt the snow and these loose snow slides may have a moist/wet character. 

Beneath the new snow, a variety of weak layers exist in the upper few feet of the snowpack. The character and sensitivity of these layers varies from slope to slope. We observed some wet slabs failing on these layers during the major warm-up,  but the most recent triggered dry slab avalanche failed in the Sawtooths on March 14th (photo here). The likelihood of triggering a slide involving these layers has decreased significantly, but hasn't gone away. You'd be most likely to trigger an avalanche involving these layers on very steep slopes in rocky, upper elevation terrain. Here, the snowpack is variably thick and thin, allowing for better access to these weak layers. Avalanches that fail on these layers would be difficult to escape.

It is spring, and valley bottom locations will see highs in the high 30s F and extended periods of sun today. The snowpack at lower elevations has experienced many cycles of melt and freeze and these warm temperatures and rain are unlikely to produce widespread wet snow issues. As always, if you are finding a wet pile of snow on the slope you are playing on its worth considering the possibility of starting small wet snow avalanches. Being conscious of your timing by starting early and exiting before the heat of the day will help mitigate these issues.