40 cm or more of storm snow and wind have formed reactive slabs.
Expect human triggering of avalanches to remain likely.
Buried weak layers from January and February could still be triggered, particularly at upper treeline and alpine elevations. Storm slab avalanches could step down to these layers, forming very large avalanches.
New snow and wind have formed reactive new slabs. Expect windslab avalanches to be present on North through to east aspect terrain near or just below ridge crests.
Many small to large (size 1 to 3) storm, wind slab, and cornice avalanches were either triggered naturally, by humans, or by explosives on Wednesday and Thursday. These occurred at treeline and alpine elevations primarily on north aspects. Most slabs were 50 to 80 cm deep.
Large human-triggered avalanches continue to remain likely.
On Thursday, between 20 to 50 cm of new snow fell, accompanied by moderate southwest winds, forming new storm and wind slabs. Since last Saturday, up to 100 cm of storm snow has accumulated, sitting on a hard melt-freeze crust and surface hoar crystals in wind-sheltered areas.
Weak layers of surface hoar and/or faceted grains, buried in mid-February and late January, are found 60 to 150 cm deep. This MIN report illustrates the depth and potential severity of triggering this weak layer.
The lower half of the snowpack remains strong.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Saturday
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with afternoon sun, 1 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Monday
Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
