Seek terrain that is sheltered from the wind for better snow quality and lower avalanche danger.
50-100 cm of recent snow has been blown into deep wind slabs by strong winds. Recent winds have shifted from southwest to southeast, so watch for wind slabs on a variety of aspects.
On Tuesday, explosive avalanche control produced large avalanches up to size 2.5 within the recent storm snow, with crowns as deep as 75 cm.
On Monday, a natural avalanche cycle up to size 2.5 was reported during the storm.
If you head into the backcountry please consider submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network!
Recent storm totals range from 50-100 cm. At elevations below 500 m, a 10 cm thick crust exists on the surface. At upper elevations, strong southerly winds have formed deep wind slabs in leeward terrain, while scouring windward slopes.
A spotty layer of surface hoar can be found down over 100 cm in sheltered terrain features at and below treeline. The distribution of this layer is not well known, and it may be getting too deep to be triggered by the weight of a human.
A layer of facets buried at the end of November can be found near the ground. The snowpack depth varies between 200 and 300 cm at treeline.
Wednesday night
Cloudy with flurries up to 5 cm. Moderate southeast wind. Freezing level 300 m.
Thursday
Cloudy with snow flurries, 5-15 cm. Moderate to strong southeast wind. Treeline temperatures around -3 °C. Freezing level 500 m.
Friday
10-25 cm of new snow, turning to rain below 1300 m. Moderate to strong southeast wind. Treeline temperatures around -2 °C.
Saturday
Flurries, 5-10 cm. Moderate to strong southeast wind. Treeline temperatures around -1 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
