Seek terrain that is sheltered from the wind for better snow and lower avalanche danger. Retreat to mellow terrain if you find signs of instability like shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
The wind is forecasted to change direction to the southeast on Wednesday, forming new wind slabs on different slope aspects. This avalanche problem may be less concerning below treeline where there is less wind exposure.
On Tuesday, avalanche control using explosives produced a few large (size 2-2.5) avalanches within the recent storm snow, as deep as 75 cm.
On Monday, a few small to large (size 1-2.5) naturally triggered storm slab avalanches were reported. Due to poor visibility during the storm, these reports are low on details.
If you head into the backcountry please consider submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network.
Strong southerly winds are maintaining wind slabs in exposed leeward terrain. South facing slopes (windward), have likely been scoured by the strong winds. Storm totals in sheltered areas above the freezing line range from 50-100 cm.
A spotty layer of surface hoar can be found down over 100 cm in sheltered terrain features at and below treeline. The distribution of this layer is not well known, and it may be getting too deep to be triggered by the weight of a human.
A layer of facets buried at the end of November can be found near the ground. The snowpack depth varies between 200 and 300 cm at treeline.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy. Trace of snow expected. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind, becoming light by the morning. Freezing level falls to valley bottom. Treeline temperature around -8 °C.
Wednesday
Mainly cloudy. 5 cm of snow expected, up to 10 cm in areas around Stewart. Strong southeast ridgetop wind. Freezing levels around valley bottom, treeline temperatures around -6 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy. 5-10 cm of snow expected. Strong southeast ridgetop wind. Freezing level rises to 750 m. Treeline temperatures around -3 °C.
Friday
Cloudy. 10-25 cm of snow expected. Strong southeast ridgetop wind. Freezing level. rises to 1100 m. Treeline temperatures around -1 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
