Presidential Range

A firm refrozen snowpack has created hazardous slide-for-life conditions. Exercise extra caution on steep, exposed terrain where self-arrest would be difficult or impossible. Use crampons, an ice axe, and a helmet with well practiced mountaineering skills to reduce your chances of a fall today.Avalanche danger will increase overnight as a storm impacts the forecast area. Triggering an avalanche in drifted snow will be possible late tonight and tomorrow morning.

After six days of temperatures well above freezing and periods of rain, winter conditions have returned. The saturated snowpack has refrozen into a firm surface, creating slide-for-life conditions in steep terrain. When the snow surface hardens into a smooth icy crust, stopping a fall can be extremely difficult. On steep icy slopes, self-arrest is unlikely to succeed, it is most important to avoid falling in the first place. Conditions similar to these have resulted in numerous serious injuries and fatalities over the years.

Middle and upper elevations received a trace to less than half an inch of new snow late yesterday. Thin wind slabs may exist in isolated areas and are not expected to pose a significant avalanche problem but may contribute to a fall. Dangerous sliding fall conditions will remain the primary concern today.

Conditions will begin to change overnight as a winter storm moves into the region. Increasing winds and new snowfall will impact the forecast area, and avalanche danger will rise as the storm develops. While the exact distribution of snowfall and drifting will become clearer tomorrow, this system will likely begin forming wind slabs in lee terrain. A more detailed assessment of avalanche conditions will be provided in tomorrow morning’s forecast.

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.