Assess for small wind slabs before committing to steep or extreme terrain.
Wind slabs may be reactive due to the underlying surface hoar.
New wind slabs are expected to be small but reactive due to the large surface hoar they’ll form over.
Where new snow doesn’t form a slab small dry loose avalanches are possible.
There have been no new avalanches reported in over a week.
By Thursday afternoon around 5 cm of snow could overlie the late January surface hoar/crust layer. This new snow will be accompanied by southwest wind meaning that the crust will likely remain on the surface on southerly aspects and deeper deposits will be found on north and east aspects. The surface hoar is largest on sheltered treeline and below treeline features.
The mid and lower snowpack is well settled.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy. 2 to 3 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Friday
Cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
