A buried weak layer could create surprisingly large and reactive avalanches.
Take a cautious approach and practice good travel habits.
New snow and wind have formed fresh wind slabs that may be surprisingly large and reactive due to a weak layer of surface hoar below. Be especially cautious around treeline and low alpine where surface hoar is mostly likely to be preserved.
On Wednesday, natural (some cornice-triggered) and skier-triggered wind slabs were observed from alpine and treeline terrain up to size 1.5. Notably, some slabs had surprisingly wide propagation in lower-angled terrain due to a weak layer of surface hoar they were failing on. (read more here).
Keep your guard up on Firday as similar activity can be expected with new snow and wind form fresh slabs.
Up to 15 cm of new snow overlies a sun crust on steep south-facing slopes, large surface hoar in sheltered areas, and wind-affected surfaces in exposed areas.
A second crust is buried 60 to 100 cm deep and may have a layer of surface hoar sitting above it. Recent tests show this layer as unreactive.
The remainder of the mid and lower snowpack is well-settled.
Snow depths at treeline are roughly 100 to 150 cm.
Thursday Night
Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of new snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level drops to 1000 m.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 15 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Saturday
A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Sunday
Mostly sunny with valley cloud. 15 to 40 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
