Northwest Inland

Weak, feathery crystals below wind-loaded snow is the main concern this weekend.

On Friday a machine triggered size 1.5 avalanche on an east aspect at treeline was reported. It may have failed on buried surface hoar.

A few natural wind slab avalanches, size 1 to 2, were reported on Thursday on the Grizzly Plateau by the field team. These avalanches triggered additional slabs at treeline. We suspect these failed on a weak layer of surface hoar, around 25cm deep.

If you do go into the backcountry, consider submitting a Mountain Information Network report.

Widespread wind-affected surfaces exist at higher elevations with roughly 30 cm of recent snow that has been redistributed by strong southwest alpine winds.

Two different surface hoar layers have been reported in the upper half of the snowpack and appear to be most prominent at treeline and below.

In general, the snowpack is still shallow for this time of year with snowpack depths at treeline ranging from 50 to 100 cm. Early season hazards are still a concern.

Friday Night

Cloudy with trace amounts of precipitation, westerly alpine winds 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -6°C.

Saturday

Partly sunny with no precipitation, northwest alpine winds 20 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -6°C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with trace amounts of snow, southwest alpine winds 40 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -6°C.

Monday

Cloudy with 5 cm of snow, southerly alpine winds 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -8°C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
• Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.