The new storm snow is not bonding well to old surfaces, and human-triggered avalanches are likely.
Natural avalanche activity will spike on solar slopes when the sun is out.
Weak layers remain a concern in north-facing terrain where snowpack depth is variable. These layers are still adjusting to the new snow load and may be reactive to human-triggering.
Up to 70 cm of storm snow and strong winds have built reactive storm slabs. Back off if you encounter signs of instability like warming from the sun, whumpfing, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
On Tuesday, continued evidence of a widespread natural avalanche cycle from last weekend's storm was reported. Most recently, a skier remotely triggered a size 2 slab avalanche from 75 m away on a northeast aspect at 2000 m. This avalanche reportedly stepped down to the mid-February interface.
Reactive storm slabs are likely on Thursday, especially in areas at upper elevations that see more wind effect.
Avoid solar slopes when the sun comes out.
Up to 70 cm of snow sits above a crust on all aspects except on high north-facing terrain, where new snow buries 5 cm of faceted snow overlying a crust from earlier in March. This second crust likely doesn’t exist above 2100 m. Strong southwest winds continue to redistribute some of the fresh snow onto lee slopes at the ridgeline.
A layer of facets and surface hoar from mid-February can be found down around 90 to 110 cm, and snowpack tests are producing sudden planar results on it.
Another layer of facets and surface hoar from late January can be found down 110 to 150 cm.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with isolated flurries up to 5 cm. 10 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.
Thursday
Cloudy with some sunny periods and isolated flurries. 15 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
Friday
Cloudy with sunny periods. 10 to 15 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.
Saturday
Cloudy with 3 to 7 cm of snow. 15 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
