Strong winds are building wind slabs in open areas at all elevations. Watch for signs of instability; shooting cracks, hollow sounds and recent avalanches as you move through the terrain.
Variable winds have resulted in atypical loading patterns. Avoid lee and cross-loaded slopes where wind slabs may be reactive to human triggering.
On Sunday, several wind slab avalanches were reported up to size 2.5 in steep alpine and treeline terrain. These avalanches occurred in a range of aspects. See these MINs from Whitewater Ridge and Old Glory Mountain to see photos and descriptions of where users are seeing wind slab avalanches.
If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Cold temperatures are slowly faceting the upper snowpack. Variable winds have redistributed low-density snow into wind slabs in open areas at all elevations. 70 cm of recent snow overlies a layer of surface hoar on sheltered, north-facing terrain and a sun crust on south-facing slopes. The exact location of this layer is tricky to pinpoint at this time. This layer may become reactive to human triggering as temperatures begin to warm.
The middle of the snowpack contains a series of old melt freeze-crusts.
A thick crust deep in the snowpack largely protects any weak layers further down in the snowpack from being triggered.
Monday Night
Partly cloudy with no precipitation, northwest alpine wind 10 to 30 km/h, temperature inversion present with treeline temperature around -15 °C and valley bottom temperatures around -20 °C.
Tuesday
Partly cloudy with isolated flurries in the evening, trace amounts of snow, westerly alpine wind 25 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -15 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered flurries, 7 to 15 cm of snow, southwest alpine wind 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -15 °C.
Thursday
A mix of sun and cloud with no new precipitation, variable alpine wind 10 to 25 km/h, treeline temperature -20 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
