Although snowfall has tapered, avalanche conditions remain complicated and dangerous. Stick with conservative terrain choices and give the snowpack time to adjust.
Two layers of surface hoar from late December are now buried 80-140 cm deep. Significant loading from new snow has the potential to bring these weak layers to their tipping point and to create conditions for step-down avalanches.
The most recent storm delivered 40-70 cm of snow across the region forming reactive storm slabs. With moderate to strong southwest winds, storm slabs will be more pronounced in lee terrain features at higher elevations.
Wednesday night: Decreasing cloud, moderate west wind, alpine temperature -16 C.
Thursday: Increasing cloud, isolated flurries with trace accumulations, light west wind, alpine high temperature -10 C.
Friday: Cloudy, 5-15 cm of snow, moderate south wind, alpine high temperature -10 C.
Saturday: Cloudy, 10-20 cm of snow, light south wind, alpine high temperature -9 C.
A widespread avalanche cycle occurred overnight and into Wednesday. Numerous large (size 2-2.5) and very large (size 3-3.5) avalanches released from natural, human, and explosive triggers in the storm snow.
Prior to the storm, there were many reports of large (size 2-2.5) avalanches from both natural and human triggers releasing on surface hoar layers formed in late December across aspects and elevations. These avalanches were breaking 60-90 cm deep. Several of them were remote-triggered.
As the new snow settles, storm slab avalanches have the potential to step-down to these deeper layers, forming very large and destructive avalanches.
The most recent storm delivered 40-70 cm of new snow across the region with moderate to strong southwest winds. Expect storm slabs to be especially touchy in lee terrain features where southwest winds have been drifting new snow into stiffer, more reactive slabs.
Two layers of surface hoar from late December are now buried 80-140 cm deep. These layers continue to produce large to very large avalanches across aspects and elevations with continued loading from snow and wind.
Snowpack depths at tree line now range from 180-280cm, with a well settled mid and lower snowpack.
