Low snow and a firm crust have made travel challenging at lower elevations. At higher elevations, avoid wind-loaded areas and dial back your terrain choices if you find signs of instability.
At upper elevations, up to 30 cm of recent snowfall was accompanied by strong southwest winds. Winds have shifted to the northeast and may form fresh, reactive wind slabs in an atypical, reverse-loading pattern.
Challenging travel at low elevations has limited access to the mountains in many areas and no new avalanches have been reported.
If you are getting out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by making a post on the MIN (Mountain Information Network). 🙏
At upper elevations, up to 30 cm of recent snowfall has been redeposited by strong winds. A hard crust exists on the surface on all aspects to at least 1600 m.
A layer of weak faceted snow above a hard crust formed in early February and is now buried 50 to 120 cm deep. This layer is generally getting stronger and is shielded by crusts above it. It has not produced any recent avalanches.
Thursday Night
Cloudy with clear periods. Ridge winds 15 to 30 km/h from the northeast. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level drops to valley bottom.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. Ridge wind light from the northeast. Treeline temperatures reach a high of -3 °C. Freezing level rises to 1500 m.
Saturday
Sunny with cloudy periods. Ridge winds 15 to 40 km/h from the southwest. Treeline temperature reaches a high of 0 °C. Freezing level rises to 1800 m.
Sunday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Ridge wind 30 to 50 km/h from the southwest. Treeline temperatures reach a high of 0 °C. Freezing level rises to 1700 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
