Windslabs are the name of the game right now. Avoid alpine and treeline features that have been affected by wind or have been loaded.
Expect another chilly day on Sunday (-20°C). Be prepared for cold temperatures if you are heading out.
Recent strong to extreme winds have built windslabs in the alpine and treeline. Watch for reverse loading from variable wind directions. Avalanches triggered in windslabs may step down to the Deep Persistent Layer.
A variety of crusts with facets above and below exist at the bottom of the snowpack. These layers are going to be with us for a long time and pose a low probability, high consequence situation if triggered.
Avalanche control near Parkers on Friday (Jan 17) produced wind slab avalanches up to size 2.5. Some of these avalanches stepped down to the Deep Persistent layer. Natural windslab avalanches at treeline and in the alpine have also been observed over the last few days.
10-15 cm of recent storm snow has widespread wind affect from recent strong to extreme winds. The middle of the snowpack is facetted and there is a deep persistent layer at the base of the snowpack consisting of a decomposing melt freeze crust and depth hoar. The snowpack is 70-130 cm in depth at tree line.
Sunday
Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperature: High -15 °C. Ridge wind northeast: 10-20 km/h.
Monday
Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperature: Low -15 °C, High -11 °C. Ridge wind west: 10 km/h.
Tuesday
A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperature: Low -17 °C, High -13 °C. Ridge wind west: 15 km/h gusting to 40 km/h.
