Precipitation is expected to end Wednesday night, but it’s still unclear how much will fall as rain versus snow. If you're heading out, please share your post-storm observations on the MIN.
Reactive storm slabs have built up over the past storms and will remain sensitive to human-triggering, especially on lee features and convex slopes. Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers, resulting in large avalanches.
Deep ski penetration into wet snow means the snowpack is saturated, and wet avalanches are possible on steep slopes. It’s still unclear how much will fall as rain versus snow at treeline.
On Tuesday, a deep and large slab (size 2.5-3) was observed on Matier’s East Ridge, with a crown up to 2 meters deep.
Previous avalanche observations were reported over the last weekend, including a wind slab accidentally triggered by a skier in Y Couloir of Mount Ronayne, and a natural avalanche (size 2.5) above Darkside Lake near Steep Peak.
If you're heading out into the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the MIN.
At elevations of 1800 m and above, 20 to 30 cm of new heavy snow can be found. Strong wind redistributed the recent snow on leeward features and scoured slopes on windward alpine terrain. A surface crust is likely present from 1700 m and below.
Several layers, including surface hoar, facets, and a thin crust, can be found 40 to 65 cm below the surface. A firm crust, formed in early November, is buried 60 to 90 cm at alpine and treeline elevations. Weak facets have been spotted above and below the crust.
Snowpack height averages around 100 cm at treeline and decreases rapidly below about 1500 m.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow at treeline. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. Up to 5 cm of snow at treeline. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3°C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1°C. Freezing level 1800 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
