Stormy skies

It was a warm, stormy day at Core Lodge. Temperatures hovered just below freezing at Treeline, with rain transitioning to snow around 1,400 m. Low clouds obscured the alpine and created flat light in the meadows. On the Backside Meadows there was 190 cm of soft, supportive snow. However, when we dug down, we easily identified the mid-December crust. This layer was buried about 85 cm in sheltered Treeline terrain and produced results that raised concern: a large trigger, such as a wind slab avalanche, could potentially step down to this layer and result in a much larger avalanche. We also searched for wind slabs and found them on north- to east-facing slopes. A test profile on a small, representative slope showed wind slabs approximately 45 cm thick. Given these findings and the limited visibility, we chose to stay on mellow, treed terrain.