The general avalanche hazard is CONSIDERABLE above 7,500 feet and MODERATE below 7,500 feet. Backcountry travelers could easily trigger recently developed wind slabs up to two feet deep in steep, wind loaded terrain. These slabs could also step down into layers of weak, faceted snow buried deep within the older snowpack. Cautious route finding and careful snowpack evaluation will be essential for safe travel in avalanche terrain.
Strong west winds have created dense, wind slabs up to two feet in depth on a variety of aspects. These slabs rest upon lighter density snow and slick old snow surfaces and could be easily triggered by back country travels in steep, wind loaded terrain.
Surface slabs have the potential to step down to buried layers of weak faceted snow and become full depth avalanches on a variety of aspects with crown depths of two to four feet.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Expect mostly clear skies on Christmas. A temperature inversion is expected to build overnight with lows in the mountains in the single digits and near zero in the valley. Daytime highs at all elevations will be in the low 20s. Northwesterly ridgetop winds will range from 10 to 20 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be CONSIDERABLE on Wednesday. Above 7,000 feet, backcountry travelers could trigger recently developed wind slabs up to 30 inches in depth on a variety of aspects. Faceted snow persists throughout the snowpack and failure could occur on these deeper layers as well with slab depths up to four feet. Cautious route finding and careful snowpack evaluation will be essential for safe travel in avalanche terrain tomorrow.
