Choose conservative terrain and dont be connected to large overhead slopes. Steep, rocky slopes with a variable thin to thick snowpack are susceptible to human triggers, resulting in large destructive avalanches.
Weather Forecast
Tuesday Night: Cloudy with a trace of new snow. Ridgetop winds light from the southwest and alpine temperatures near -9. Freezing levels at valley bottom.Wednesday: Mix of sun and cloud. Ridgetop winds moderate from the West and alpine temperatures near -8. Freezing levels 1200 m. Thursday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Ridgetop winds moderate from the West and freezing levels near 800 m. Friday: Mix of sun and cloud. Ridgetop winds light from the northwest and alpine temperatures near -6. Freezing levels rise to 1100 m.
Avalanche Summary
On Monday, several skier triggered wind slabs up to size 2 were reported. These were mostly on N-NE aspects above 2300 m. At this point there isn't much snow overlying the weak layers in the upper snowpack, however, these layers wont be going anywhere fast and just need more load above them to initiate avalanches. Given the weak nature of the snowpack, the main concern remains the possibility for triggering large deep persistent slab avalanches. Large and very large (size 2.5-3.5) avalanches have been reported regularly over the past few weeks.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 20 cm of recent snow has buried large surface hoar crystals and/or sun crusts. This will likely develop into a touchy problem as more snow accumulates. The most suspect terrain features will be steep slopes and rolls between 1500m- 2000 m (where the largest surface hoar exists) and steep south-facing slopes in the alpine (where sun crust exists). Reactive wind slabs can also be found at upper elevations on lee (N-NE) slopes. The weak nature of the snowpack lies at depth. The base of the snowpack is composed of weak faceted grains and a crust in many parts of the region. People have and will continue to be able to trigger these layers in areas where the snowpack is shallow. These areas typically include ridgelines, large open slopes and bowls at upper elevations. Common trigger points are rocks, trees and areas where the snowpack is variable (thin to thick and variable).
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.
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.