The general avalanche hazard is MODERATE above 7500 feet and LOW below that elevation. A winter weather advisory is in affect and moderate to heavy mountain snowfall is to be accompanied by very strong westerly winds. By the mid afternoon at the higher elevations, new sensitive wind slabs will have formed on a variety of snow surfaces including hard wind packed snow and crusts. Skiers and riders will have the potential to trigger these developing slabs as well as older instabilities in the snowpack. Avalanches at low elevations are not expected however loose snow sluffs could become possible in shaded terrain where the snowpack is faceted.
By the afternoon today new snow and strong winds will form surface slabs in leeward terrain. If the predicted rapid loading occurs, these slabs will be very sensitive to human triggers in steep wind loaded terrain at the high elevations although slab depths are likely to be relatively small during daylight hours.
Persistent layers of faceted snow lie in the snowpack. Slabs laying on these layers vary from one foot to as much as four feet in depth. These older slabs could be triggered after initiation of a new wind slab, by a single person hitting a weak spot or by larger loads such as snow machines. Particularly steep, rocky avalanche prone paths should be avoided today.
