New snow and strong winds on Wednesday night are expected to form fresh wind slabs on lee features at treeline and above. Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
New snow and strong winds on Wednesday night are expected to form fresh wind slabs on lee features at treeline and above.
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.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Snow; 5-10 cm (rain below ~700 m) / Extreme, west wind / Low of -2 / Freezing level rising to 1100 m.
THURSDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries; 0-3 cm, and another 5-10 cm overnight / Strong, west wind / High of 1 / Freezing level 1200 m.
FRIDAY: Cloudy with flurries; 3-5 cm / Strong, southwest wind / High of 2 / Freezing level 1200 m.
SATURDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries; 0-3 cm / Light, west wind / High of -2 / Freezing level 800 m.
Several skier triggered size 1 wind slabs were reported on Tuesday. The size and distribution of the wind slabs are expected to increase with the incoming snow Wednesday night.
5-10 cm of forecast snow and strong west winds on Wednesday night are expected to form fresh wind slabs sitting on a thick rain crust.
The 10-20 cm thick rain crust makes human triggering of avalanches on weak layers deeper in the snowpack very unlikely.
However, cornices overhead are a primary concern during sunny, warm, or windy conditions. Cornice failures can trigger very large persistent slab avalanches that would otherwise be difficult to human trigger.
