Strong west winds will redistribute available snow into fresh wind slabs at upper elevations.
Evaluate terrain carefully for wind slabs before committing.
Overnight strong west winds will redistribute available snow into wind slabs in lee terrain. Wind slabs are most sensitive to triggering when they are newly formed. Look for signs of wind transport as you move through the terrain.
Buried weak layers in the mid-pack persist and continue to produce sporadic persistent slab avalanches. While this avalanche problem is becoming more stubborn to trigger, it comes with serious consequences if you do.
As of 4 pm on Tuesday, no new avalanches have been reported in the region.
On Sunday, evidence of several natural persistent slab avalanches triggered by cornice failure was observed up to size 2. See this MIN for details and photos of two of these avalanches.
Avalanche control triggered a size 2 persistent slab avalanche in a treeline feature at 1900 m on a north aspect.
If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you see by submitting a MIN!
2 to 10 cm of low-density snow sits atop a variety of surfaces, including wind-affected surfaces, surface hoar and facets on northerly aspects and a thin breakable sun crust on southerly aspects. Moderate westerly winds will redistribute available snow into fresh wind slabs at upper elevations.
A weak layer buried in early December can be found down 50 to 90 cm. On shaded slopes, it consists of weak surface hoar or faceted crystals, while on south-facing slopes, it combines a sun crust with facets.
The snowpack base is composed of a thick crust and facets in many areas.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 2cm. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Wednesday
Partly cloudy with light flurries, 1 cm. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Thursday
A mix of sun and cloud. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Friday
Mainly cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 4 cm. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
