Heightened avalanche conditions exist in specific terrain features where deeper pockets of snow sit over weak layers in the upper snowpack.
A couple of shallowly buried weak layers composed of crust, facets and/or surface hoar are most likely to be reactive where they are buried deepest; in wind-loaded terrain features.
On Saturday a skier-triggered size 2 wind slab was reported in the Dogtooth range, with limited information as to elevation, aspect, etc. There have also been several reports of cornice falls in recent days, natural and explosive-triggered, size 2.
If you are heading into the backcountry, please share your observations with the Mountain Information Network.
5 to 15 cm of new snow blankets a variable upper snowpack with a number of weak interfaces.
Depending on aspect and elevation, the top 30 cm may contain one or two layers of crust, facet and/or surface hoar formed in late January and early February. These layers are expected to become increasingly problematic as they get buried deeper.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled, with no significant concerns.
Sunday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny. 1 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
