Sunshine doesn't mean stability! Santa brought a week of fresh snow that still needs time to settle.
A gift from me to you: the best and safest riding is in sheltered terrain 🎄🎁
A crust/facet layer formed in mid-November exists deep in the snowpack. This layer may remain reactive at higher elevations, where an overlying, supportive crust is absent or weaker compared to lower elevations.
Recently formed storm slabs are expected to remain reactive to rider-triggering, especially in wind-loaded terrain.
20 to 30 cm of recent storm snow overlies roughly 100 cm of new snow in the past week. Strong southerly wind has left a variety of surfaces - wind slabs and loaded pockets in lee features, scoured rock in open terrain, and storm slabs and softer snow in sheltered areas.
This new snow covers a crust that exists to at least 2200 m.
A deeper crust with associated facets, formed in mid-November, exists 50 to 150 cm below the surface.
No new avalanches have been reported at the time of publishing, but observations have been limited by stormy weather.
Looking forward to Thursday, the recent storm snow still needs time to stabilize. Wind-loaded terrain at upper elevations will be the prime suspect for human-triggered avalanches.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Thursday
Sunny. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Saturday
Mostly sunny. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
