Up to 15 cm snow will fall by the end of the day on Thursday with moderate to strong southwest wind. Wind slabs will form throughout the day and be reactive to human triggers.
Up to 15 cm snow will fall by the end of the day Thursday. Moderate to strong southwest wind will redistribute the snow and form fresh wind slabs throughout the day in lee terrain features in the alpine and at treeline. Wind slabs will be reactive to human triggers.
Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind-loaded snow.
Wednesday night: Cloudy, up to 5 cm snow, strong southwest wind, alpine low -4 °C, freezing level around 800 m.
Thursday: Cloudy, 5-10 cm snow, moderate southwest wind, alpine high 0 °C, freezing level around 1300 m.
Friday: Mix of sun and cloud, 5-10 cm snow, moderate to strong westerly wind, alpine high -2 °C, freezing level around 1000 m.
Saturday: Mix of sun and cloud, trace of new snow, moderate west wind, alpine high -6 °C, freezing level around 700 m.
On Wednesday, a small (size 1) wind slab avalanche was observed in a cross-loaded feature near ridgetop.
A naturally triggered size 2 wind slab avalanche was reported on a steep cross-loaded alpine feature on Tuesday. Many small dry loose avalanches were observed as well.
The new snow will add to the 10-40 cm of recent snow which overlies a hard melt-freeze crust.
Recent moderate southwest winds removed the snow above the crust in wind-exposed areas and formed wind slabs on lee terrain features at treeline and above.
Cornices are very large and exposure to them should be minimized, especially during warm or windy weather.
