Expect avalanche danger to rise to High through the day as snowfall accumulates and the wind blows strong from the west.
Storm slabs will build as snow accumulates through the day Wednesday.
A surface hoar layer buried early December is 40 to 80 cm down from the snow surface. Expect avalanche activity to increase as the load builds on this layer.
On Monday avalanche activity was reported primarily as several naturally and skier triggered wind slab and storm slabs size 1 to 2 in the alpine and tree line.
There were two reports of persistent slab avalanches running on northerly aspects. One was size 2 explosives triggered fracturing 60-80 cm deep at 2200 m. The other a size 1.5 skier triggered 50 cm deep at 1600 m.
Be aware of potential for step down avalanches as the load increases on buried surface hoar.
10-15 cm of new snow Tuesday night will be redistributed by southwest winds in the alpine and open treeline forming wind slabs in lee features.
A surface hoar layer formed in early December is now buried 40 to 80 cm and is most prevalent between the 1700 to 2200 m elevation bands (see this MIN). We're tracking this layer as the load (and resulting slab) builds above it. We may see reactivity increase if the load above reaches a critical threshold.
Tuesday Night Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
WednesdayCloudy with 15 to 20 mm of snow. 35 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks. 25 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries. 25 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
