Heightened avalanche conditions exist in the alpine where the potential for human-triggering weak layers remains possible.
Where localized winds have redistributed new snow, soft cohesive slabs are forming. Small wind slabs have been reactive to skier traffic in steep terrain on a variety of aspects.
A supportive crust exists on all aspects to 2400 m however at higher elevations weak layers deep in the snowpack could still be human-triggered.
On Tuesday, several size 1, skier-triggered wind slab and loose dry avalanches were reported throughout the region. These avalanches mainly occurred in steep terrain where the new snow has not bonded to the crust below.
On Monday, a MIN from a neighboring region reported a group bootpacking a couloir that triggered size 3 avalanche on a south-facing slope at 2600 m. This is evidence that where the crust isn't present the persistent problem remains a concern.
Anywhere from 15 to 35 cm of dry snow sits atop a widespread, hard crust. In general, the crust is strong and thick enough to be supportive to travel on up to 2400 m where it tapers out.
In the mid and lower snowpack, various weak layers persist in areas, however, triggering any of these layers is unlikely where they are capped by the supportive crust above.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy with 0 to 4 cm of snow. 5 to 15 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Thursday
Partly cloudy with 0 to 4 cm of snow, 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop winds, treeline temperature -8 °C.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 30 km/h northeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Saturday
A mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
