Avoid all avalanche terrain.
A deeply buried weak layer may cause large avalanches to run to valley bottom.
The weak layer from early December is of greatest concern in areas with shallow, thin-to-thick snowpacks and on wind-loaded north or east-facing slopes.
Heavy snowfall and wind will make dangerous avalanche conditions. Storm slabs may step-down to buried weak layers.
On Monday, there were a few small (size 1) rider-triggered wind slab avalanches that failed on buried surface hoar.
On Sunday, there were a few large to very large (size 2 to 3) persistent slab avalanches that failed during the warm weather on southeast and northeast aspects.
20 to 50 cm of snow is expected to fall by the end of the day Tuesday. This snow comes with southwest wind which will drop more snow into lee areas.
A layer of surface hoar is buried about 50 to 90 cm deep. This layer has been seen on all aspects at all elevations.
Around 130 to 250 cm deep are buried weak layers from December. Consisting of crusts, facets, and/or surface hoar. These layers continue to produce large avalanches.
The lower snowpack is strong, with no layers of concern.
Tuesday Night
Cloudy with 20 to 35 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Thursday
Clear skies. Calm wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
