Take a cautious approach and assess conditions as you travel. Observations are limited at this time of year and many early-season hazards are present in this below-average snowpack.
New snow and southwest wind are expected to have formed fresh wind slab. Wind-loaded bowls and gullies may present as an appealing place to get some early-season turns, but they're also the places where avalanches are most likely to occur.
There have been no new avalanches reported, but we haven't received any updates from the field since the most recent storm.
If you do head out, do so with a cautious and investigative mindset, and let us know what you're seeing by submitting a MIN report.
Roughly 30 to 60 cm of snow exists at the treeline. A crust or moist snow may exist on the surface from recent warm temperatures and rain. The alpine snowpack has been extensively wind-affected and largely scoured to rock. A robust crust has been reported near the base of the snowpack.
The snowpack is unusually shallow for this time of year. Creeks are open, rocks are exposed, and there are plenty of early-season hazards.
Friday night
Cloudy with snowfall, trace to 7 cm, southwest alpine wind 60 to 80 km/h. Treeline temperature 0°C.
Saturday
Cloudy with snow, up to 5 cm accumulation, southwest alpine wind 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature -1°C.
Sunday
Cloudy with snow, 1 to 10 cm accumulation, southwest alpine wind 50 to 100 km/h, treeline temperature 0°C.
Monday
Mostly cloudy with snow, up to 5 cm accumulation, southwest alpine wind 50 to 80 km/h, treeline temperature -4 C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
