With small amounts of snow and light winds predicted throughout the weekend, expect to find soft storm slabs and wind slabs. While these won't be very thick, they will still have to ability to sweep a skier/snowboarder off their feet or take a snowmobile out from under a rider. Don't let your game down just because the advisory isn't flashing red anymore.
With small amounts of snow and light winds predicted throughout the weekend, expect to find soft storm slabs and wind slabs. While these won't be very thick, they will still have to ability to sweep a skier/snowboarder off their feet or take a snowmobile out from under a rider. Don't let your game down just because the advisory isn't flashing red anymore.
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Above Treeline
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Near Treeline
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Below Treeline
Light density snow with moderate winds will create wind slabs on the W-N-E aspects. Look for pillowy, chalky colored snow as you are traveling. Expect to find wind slabs on the ridges and ridgelines. While they might not be very thick, they still have the ability to take someone for a ride and bury them, expecially in high consequence terrain. We've seen a lot of cornice building in the past week, make sure to give those a wide berth.
We had a storm roll through last night that delivered several inches of low density snow. Expect soft slab avalanches and sluffing in steep terrain. These will still have the ability to knock you off your feet or sled and take you for a ride. The stakes are a lot higher in high consequence terrain such as deep gully's, rock cliffs, and runouts into tree bands.
The likelyhood of triggering a buried persistent weak layer is low, but it is worth a mention. There is a buried surface hoar layer from last week that is still lurking down in the pack. The only way to find this is by digging down and seeing if it is in your location and if it is being reactive.
Yesterday we traveled to West Willow and found that the snowpack was gaining strength. There was a lot of evidence of wind slabs from earlier in the week when we had the cold weather coming in from the North. Expect to find some wind slabs and drifts where you might not expect them. Those ones had stabilized well and we were only concerned with newer wind slabs in the typical W-N-E locations that had formed in the night/earlier in the day.
Out of the typical wind loaded areas, we were still sinking up to our waists in the snow (boot penetration), but the interfaces between the storms had bonded well and the snowpack was right side up for the most part. Our pit tests were showing only failures on column tests and no propegation with the storm slabs. One thing that I am definitly keeping a watch out for is the buried surface hoar layers. The one from last week was down between 20 and 25 inches (55-60cm) at the highest elevations, but was only reacting in our column tests. In shallower snowpack areas, this layer might prove to be more reactive. We also had cool and clear weather on Wednesday which made us think that we migh find some buried surface hoar much closer to the surface. There wasn't any at our locations, but it doesn't mean it isn't out there. Dig down and see!
Have a safe riding and sliding weekend. The powder was very deep in the backcountry yesterday!
| Friday | Friday Night | Saturday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather: | Chance Snow | Chance Snow | Snow Likely |
| Temperatures: | 25 deg. F. | 22 deg. F. | 31 deg. F. |
| Wind Direction: | SW | Calm | SE |
| Wind Speed: | 8 | 3-6 | |
| Expected snowfall: | <.5 in. | <1 in. | 1-3 in. |
| Friday | Friday Night | Saturday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather: | Chance Snow | Chance Snow | Snow and Breezy |
| Temperatures: | 16 deg. F. | 13 deg. F. | 26 deg. F. |
| Wind Direction: | W | S | S |
| Wind Speed: | 8-10 | 11-13 | 14-20 |
| Expected snowfall: | 1-2 in. | 1-3 in. | 1-2 in. |
Avalanche conditions change for better or worse continually. Backcountry travelers should be prepared to assess current conditions for themselves, plan their routes of travel accordingly, and never travel alone. Backcountry travelers can reduce their exposure to avalanche hazards by utilizing timbered trails and ridge routes and by avoiding open and exposed terrain with slope angles of 30 degrees or more. Backcountry travelers should carry the necessary avalanche rescue equipment such as a shovel, avalanche probe or probe ski poles, a rescue beacon and a well-equipped first aid kit. For a recorded version of the Avalanche Advisory call (208)765-7323.
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