Small, but reactive wind slabs may form if 10 cm or more of snow accumulates throughout the day.
Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for wind slab hazard before you commit to it.
Small wind slabs reactive to human triggers may form throughout the day if 10 cm or more of snow accumulates throughout the day.
Cornices overhead are a primary concern during sunny, warm, or windy conditions. Cornice failures may trigger large persistent slab avalanches that would otherwise be difficult to trigger.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy with flurries; 3-5 cm / Strong, northwest wind / Low of -4 / Freezing level 500 m.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with flurries; 3-5 cm and another 15-25 cm overnight / Strong, northwest wind / High of 0 / Freezing level 1000 m.
THURSDAY: Cloudy with flurries; 3-5 cm / Strong, northwest wind / High of 1 / Freezing level 1100 m.
FRIDAY: Cloudy with flurries; 5-10 cm / Strong, west wind / High of 2 / Freezing level 1200 m.
Several small (size 1) skier triggered wind slab avalanches failing on the crust were reported on Monday. The size and distribution of the wind slabs is expected to increase with the incoming snow Wednesday afternoon.
5-15 cm of wind-pressed snow overlies a thick (10-30 cm) rain crust that extends to mountain tops. This crust has created challenging travel conditions and a "slide-for-life" hazard on steep slopes.
Small wind slabs may be found on lee features in the alpine.
The weak layers in the snowpack (such as the crust or surface hoar layers down around 100 cm) are unlikely to human trigger in areas where a hard surface crust is present. If the surface crust is warmed up and breaks down, triggering persistent slab avalanches becomes more likely.
However, cornices overhead are a primary concern during sunny, warm, or windy conditions. Cornice failures may trigger very large persistent slab avalanches that would otherwise be difficult to human trigger.
