Start with conservative terrain and watch for signs of instability.
Seek out sheltered terrain, where the snow is soft and fluffy.
The storm snow remains dry and powdery in most areas so expect sluffing in steep terrain. Remember to use sluff management techniques.
Storm slabs may remain triggerable by riders. The most likely places to trigger an avalanche are steep, wind-loaded features, just below ridgetops and convex rolls.
Last weekend, numerous small to large storm slab avalanches were reported. They were naturally and human-triggered, with slabs up to 60 cm deep, running on a crust or facet layer beneath the storm snow. This MIN report describes spooky avalanche conditions and remote-triggering in the Seymour area last Sunday. Looking forward, as the storm snow gains strength and bonds, we expect naturally triggered avalanches to be unlikely, but human triggering to remain possible.
Up to 120 cm of storm snow fell during last week's storm. This new snow may contain a thin rain crust buried 40 to 90 cm deep from a brief temperature spike during the storm. The storm snow is slowly settling and remains dry and powdery with the cold temperatures. Upper elevations have had some wind-effect and wind slabs may be found near ridgetops.
The accumulated storm snow is sitting on a weak layer that developed in late January. In most areas, this layer consists of a hard slippery crust. However, on shady, upper-elevation slopes, the new snow may be resting on faceted grains or surface hoar.
The mid and lower snowpack is well-settled and bonded with no other layers of concern.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Thursday
Partly cloudy. 10 to 20 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. 10 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Saturday
Sunny. 25 to 35 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
