In the mountains dense surface slabs lie upon a weak base of faceted snow. Dense slabs on persistent weak layers are tricky and hard to manage with respect to route selection and risk. Some slopes may appear to be stable while others are not. Evaluate the snow pack and terrain carefully as the consequences of triggering a dense slab avalanche could be severe. The snow cover below an elevation of 7,500 is fairly shallow and wet. Shallow wet slides are a possibility on steep snow covered slopes.
Dense surface slabs formed by west to southwest winds lie upon a persistent base layer of weak faceted snow. These slabs are one to two feet in depth and could be human triggered on a variety of aspects.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )A fairly steady stream of moisture will continue to move across the area. There will be a bit of a lull Wednesday morning ahead of another fast moving pulse of moisture Wednesday night. A couple of inches of snowfall are possible overnight and during the day at the highest elevations. Increased snowfall is likely in the evening. Snow densities in the mountains will remain high and the freezing level will continue to be at the 6,500 to 7,500 foot level. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE. This type of load on a snowpack with persistent weak layers of faceted snow is tricky and hard to manage with respect to route selection and risk. Many slopes may appear to be stable while others are not. Dense slab avalanches one to two feet in depth could be human triggered with severe consequences at the mid and upper elevations.
