Recent moderate to strong winds from varied directions have formed wind slabs on a variety of aspects that may remain reactive to human triggers.
Avoid steep or convex slopes where the wind has made the snow stiff or "slabby".
Recent moderate to strong winds from varied directions have formed wind slabs on a variety of aspects that may remain reactive to human triggers.
Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind-loaded snow.
Tuesday night: Partly cloudy with isolated flurries; 0-5 cm / Light west winds / Low of -7 / Freezing level surface.
Wednesday: Increasing cloudiness with flurries in the afternoon; 3-10 cm, and another 15-20 cm overnight / Strong southwest wind / High of -2 / Freezing level 700 m.
Thursday: Snow(above around 800 m), 15-20 cm / Moderate southwest wind / High of 1 / Freezing level 1100 m.
Friday: Mix of sun and cloud / Light west wind / High of 0 / Freezing level 1000 m.
Intense wind loading triggered some very large (up to size 3.5) wind slabs in the Bear Pass area that were reported on Monday morning.
A size 1 storm slab 40 cm deep was skier triggered on a steep roll at treeline on Monday. Warming was reported as the contributing factor that made the slab more sensitive to triggering.
10 cm of new snow adds to the 25-50 cm of recent snow which overlies a hard melt-freeze crust.
Recent moderate to strong winds from varied directions have formed wind slabs on a variety of aspects that may remain reactive to human triggers.
Around 100 cm down, a layer of weak snow (facets or surface hoar) has been occasionally reported in sheltered areas. The distribution of this layer has been reported as isolated and likely not a problem in many areas.
Cornices are very large and exposure to them should be minimized, especially during warm or windy weather.
