A buried wind slab exists overtop of the January crust. No new natural activity has been seen on this layer however the possibility for a step-down avalanche exists. Choose terrain carefully while the snowpack continues to adjust to the new load.
Burried wind slabs from last week's storm and Extreme W winds may linger and may still be reactive to human triggering. We saw sudden collapse results on the crust interface last week and natural and explosive avalanche reports on this layer from Castle Ski Patrol.
In isolated areas this problem may present as soft storm slab.
Several size 1-2 natural avalanches were observed Tuesday from the road. Most of these avalanches appear to be point releases and are running as dry loose, however, 1 size 1 slab avalanche was observed in a treeline feature.
Please share your observations and photos on the Mountain Information Network.
20-30 cm of fresh snow with light winds Monday day/night sits on top of older wind slabs at treeline and above or on steeper exposed slopes below treeline. Extreme W winds last week may have scoured windward slopes down to the Jan crust. These slopes may now have fresh wind slabs from reverse loading of recent snow and NE winds. The total snow depth above the crust at treeline is approx. 50-70 cm. The crust is widespread and exists up to 2400 m. We are starting to see weak crystals develop above the crust and have observed avalanches Sz 1-2.5 on this layer of concern in the surrounding area.
Wed
Mostly clear skies with no precip. Temps will hover around -7 in the alpine. Winds M-SW
Thurs
Temps rise to -5 in the alpine under mostly clear skies. Winds increase through the day, S-X from the SW.
Fri
Temps are steady at -5 in the alpine. Overcast with light flurries during the day. Winds decrease slightly to strong from the SW
