On Satuday there will be two main avalanche problems to negotiate, Wind Slab and Persistent Slab.
Winds will pick up out of the South West by the afternoon. These winds along with plenty of cold, dry snow available to transport will load North through East terrain. Triggering wind slabs in steep terrain below the ridgetops could be likely.
More stubborn, but also more dangerous is a persitent weak layer about 2 feet down. Plunge a pole or shovel down into the snow, its easy to feel these near crust facets.
Undercutting a slope with a snowmobile, or triggering a small windslab that "steps down" are some ways to set off the more dangerous persistent weak layer.
Until the snowpack shows more signs of stabilty, best to hedge your bets and not ski or ride above terrain traps. This area has many terrain traps that can exaggerate the consequences of slide, like deep gullies near the lava flow, cliff bands and open slopes that funnel into trees.
Wind slabs will once again be forming in the upper elevations. We are expecting light west winds with moderate gusts. There is lots of cold, dry snow of which can be easliy moved with the wind. Expect wind loaded pillows below cornices, at ridgetops and cross loading on any slope sitting sideways to the wind.
We have recived about 2 feet of new snow over the past week. Below this new snow is a layer of weak faceted snow sitting on a crust. In some areas there is even weak snow just below this crust. Despite this weak snow structure we have yet to see and avalanches triggered on this layer and snowpack tests are showing signs trending towards stabilty. We are moving in the right direction, but be patient. This layer might be stubborn to trigger, but its there and if set off will have high consequences.
