Weather
Today will be a cold and windy day in the mountains. 10,000' temperatures will drop to around 20 degrees. Winds will shift, and blow out of the WNW at 35-45 MPH. Snow showers will develop this morning, and the mountains should pick up 3-5" of snow by the end of the day. Temperatures crash to 0 degrees overnight, and strong NW winds continue until the midnight hour. The winds will eventually back off in the early morning. Tomorrow will be sunny with WSW winds blowing 10 MPH and high temperatures will rise to the mid-twenties.
General Conditons
It's been more than two weeks since the last snowfall and conditions are variable. Dry powder snow can still be found in sheltered, shady locations. Wind and sun crusts can be found on exposed slopes. The likelihood of triggering an avalanche on a deeply buried PWL continues to decrease, but it is still possible. We are now in a low likelihood, high consequence scenario. If you are stepping out into avalanche terrain, evaluate each slope on an individual basis. Aim to ride in areas with a deep snowpack. Avoid steep, rocky terrain, thinner areas along slope margins, and steep, blind rollovers or convexities. These are all likely trigger points.
SW winds have blown in the moderate to strong range for the past 36 hours. Today will be the peak of the winds and they will blow 35-45 MPH. Mountain winds of this speed and duration tend to swirl in all directions as they navigate the terrain. These strong winds will easily blow and drift any new snow into fresh, sensitive slabs on all aspects near treeline and above. Fresh slabs of wind-drifted snow are often recognizable by their smooth, rounded appearance, and cracking is a sign of instability. Slabs form on the leeward sides of ridge crests and terrain features such as gully walls, sub-ridges, or rock outcroppings. Avoid steep slopes that have recent deposits of wind-drifted snow.
