New snow & wind may form reactive wind slabs near ridgetops.
Remain especially cautious on high northerly slopes & areas without a thick supportive crust under the new snow.
Watch for small reactive wind slabs if you move into wind-loaded north or east facing terrain. Wind slabs have potential to step down to deeper layers, causing larger than expected avalanches.
Several persistent weak layers exist, with the most problematic ones lying 30 to 60 cm deep. These layers remain a concern where there is no thick, supportive crust under the new snow.
Mon: A few small size 1 wind slabs and sluffing were observed.
Sun: A few persistent and loose wet releases size 1-2, with both human and natural triggers occurred.
Sat: Many natural, remote, and explosives-triggered slabs failed on the late-Jan layer, generally sized 2-3 from upper elevations.
Fri: A skier was caught in a size 1.5 slab and partially buried.
Looking forward: Wind slabs may be reactive and have potential to step down to deeper layers on Wednesday.
Up to 5 cm of new snow is expected overnight and Wednesday morning, adding to the 2 - 10 cm of snow the region saw on Monday. This new snow buried a widespread melt-freeze crust that exists everywhere but high north-facing slopes. In wind sheltered areas it may have buried a new layer of surface hoar. A couple of weak layers consisting of a crust, facets or surface hoar from February and January remain a concern, buried 30 to 60 cm. Additionally, a layer of facets from early December is buried 70 to 120 cm. In many areas, facets or depth hoar exist at the base of the snowpack. These layers, particularly the late-January layer, remain a primary concern at upper elevations where strong surface crusts are absent.
Tuesday Night
Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 5 to 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 1600 m dropping to valley bottom. Treeline temperature dropping to -5 °C.
Wednesday
Mainly cloudy with 0 to 3 cm of snow. 10 to 15 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1600 m. Treeline temperature around -4 °C.
Thursday
A mix of sun and cloud. 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1600 m. Treeline temperature around -4 °C.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. 5 to 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1700 m. Treeline temperature around -2 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
