Take care transitioning into lee aspects when hunting for softer snow.
Wind slabs have the potential to step down to deeper layers.
Small pockets of wind slab may be found in the alpine on lee slopes. These have the potential to step down to the Jan 3 weak layer.
A buried layer of surface hoar on a crust continues to produce avalanches
Jan 21
A skier triggered a persistent slab avalanche when transitioning into wind affected terrain. A firm wind slab stepped down 70 cm to the weak layer below.
January 20
No new avalanches reported but observations are limited. Consider posting to the MIN if you are out in the mountains!
January 19
Few small wind slabs were reported in steep north-facing alpine terrain that appeared to have been triggered by cornice fall.
A crust exists on or near the surface in almost all terrain from the prolonged heat, rain and inversion.
The upper 80 to 150 cm of snow has been altered by previous strong southerly winds at upper elevations. The top 10 cm of the most recent crust is facetting in alpine and at treeline. Below 1000 m expect surface hoar on this crust in sheltered areas.
The mid and lower snowpack is well settled with no current layers of concern. Treeline snow depths throughout the region range from 150 cm to 250 cm.
Thursday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Friday
Sunny. 10 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Saturday
Sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Sunday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
