Presidential Range

Snow surfaces are firm and avalanche conditions are generally stable, while unlikely, in steep sheltered terrain you may still be able to trigger a small avalanche. Look for smooth, pillowy snow surfaces to identify potentially unstable snow and travel on textured surfaces to limit your exposure. An ice axe, crampons, and the skills to prevent a fall in are necessary for safer travel in steep terrain.

Clearing skies and decreasing winds yesterday finally allowed for productive field time to assess the size and sensitivity of wind slabs formed from Sunday’s 12 inches of snow and the following 49 hours of sustained westerly winds that averaged 97.3 mph. Forecasters (obs 1, 2) observed the majority of surfaces as wind-textured, firm, and unreactive. In the most sheltered areas, small, isolated wind slabs could be found, but this was underneath crownlines and in the trees and were stubborn in sensitivity.

Today there is no listed avalanche problem, while it is possible to find small (D1) wind slabs in isolated terrain, this problem is so small and so isolated that it is more of a mountain hazard than a true avalanche problem. Assess areas with smoother, pillowy snow as those could be the pockets that may be more reactive. These will be small, but could cause a fall in steep terrain that could have high consequences depending on what is beneath you. Poor structure is the most likely warning sign you will encounter today, so look for hard, strong snow on top of soft, weaker snow below. You can use your ski pole, or a shovel to get more information about snowpack structure and stability. 

The biggest hazard you may encounter today will be firm surfaces, so having crampons, an ice axe, and the skill to prevent a fall in the first place will be necessary tools for travel in steep terrain. Snow surfaces were found to be predominantly firm, with some areas barely edgeable and were identifiable by the absence of texture in the snow. 

OBSERVATIONS: Please consider submitting an observation on our website or in the new Avy phone app of what you are seeing in your travels. Submitting an observation hones your skills, informs other users, and improves our forecasts.

Thank you to our backcountry community for the awesome observations from Vermont and Baxter State Park in our newly added observation zones! This sharing of information in data-sparse regions helps to increase safety in our community.