Fresh snow will not bond to the crust. Watch for reactive pockets building in wind-loaded terrain.
In isolated areas, a persistent slab may still lurk beneath the surface.
Light flurries are forecast with increasing winds. As snowfall accumulates, reactive deposits will first form around ridgelines and in wind-loaded areas.
Watch for loose snow sluffs in steep terrain.
A buried layer of surface hoar on a crust continues to produce avalanches.
January 24
A few wind slab avalanches to size 2 on north and northwest aspects, suspected to be a few days old.
January 21
A skier triggered a persistent slab avalanche when transitioning into wind affected terrain. A firm wind slab stepped down 70 cm to the weak layer below.
January 19
Few small wind slabs were reported in steep north-facing alpine terrain that appeared to have been triggered by cornice fall.
Limited field observations, submit a MIN if you are out.
A crust exists on or near the surface in almost all terrain from the prolonged heat, rain and inversion.
The upper 80 to 150 cm of snow has been altered by previous strong southerly winds at upper elevations. The top 10 cm of the most recent crust is facetting in alpine and at treeline. Below 1000 m there is large surface hoar on this crust.
The mid and lower snowpack is well settled with no current layers of concern. Treeline snow depths throughout the region range from 150 cm to 250 cm.
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 4 cm of snow. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Monday
Cloudy. 3 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 cm of new snow. 80 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 4 to 10 cm of snow. 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
