Persistent slabs continue to be primed for rider triggering even though natural avalanche activity has tapered off. Stick to low consequence terrain.
A weak layer of faceted grains above a crust buried 60 to 120 cm deep is a recipe for large, high-consequence avalanches. Smaller slabs can easily step down and trigger larger, more destructive avalanches.
Storm slabs remain reactive to human traffic. Slabs are particularly touchy where they sit on weak layers of facets or surface hoar. Expect deeper and touchier slabs in lee terrain features near ridges.
Numerous large to very large natural and human triggered persistent slab avalanches continue to be reported through the latter part of the week. Many of the human triggered avalanches have been reported as remotely triggered (from a distance). This speaks to the sensitivity of the persistent slab.
Expect persistent slab avalanche activity to continue.
70 to 110 cm of recent snow sits on a variety of layers, including surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain, weak facets, or a hard melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed south and west-facing slopes. Gusty southerly winds have stripped fresh snow in exposed areas and loaded lee features with over 130 cm of wind-blown snow.
A thick and hard widespread crust that formed in early February is buried 60 to 120 cm deep and is found up to around 2400 m. This crust may have a layer of facets above it and is a troublesome avalanche layer.
The remainder of the snowpack is settled.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy isolated flurries. 20 to 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level at valley bottom.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with sunny breaks. 15 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries, 3-5 of snow. 15 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.
Monday
Mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level at valley bottom.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
