Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Skyline Area Mountains Issued by Brett Kobernik for Monday - December 26, 2016 - 6:54am
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The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on the very steep north through south east slopes above 9500' where the wind has been drifting snow. There is a MODERATE avalanche danger in the mid elevations where the wind has drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are possible today. The snowpack should stabilize fairly quickly but don't just jump into the big terrain right away. Look for recent avalanches. Use steep "test slopes" with no consequences to see if you can initiate any cracking.




current conditions

2 to 4 inches more snow fell on Sunday bringing storm totals up to around 20" in many locations. Out of the wind, the snow is "right side up" with more dense snow down deeper and lighter snow on the surface. The wind has drifted snow extensively in the mid and upper elevation terrain. You will find a mixed bag of conditions out there with some areas holding very nice snow and others where you'll find wind crusts and stout drifts.

Because of the wind, drifting snow and poor visibility not allowing for much travel on Sunday, I don't really know the extent of any avalanche activity during the storm. What I do know is that wind drifted snow is often unstable during the time the drifts are forming and directly after. I experienced a small amount of cracking within the snowpack on Saturday as the storm was ramping up. One small avalanche was reported from a steep road cut in Huntington Canyon on Sunday. All of this points to the potential for human triggered avalanches. I suspect that the snowpack will stabilize fairly rapidly but I will spend much of the day today sniffing around and figuring out how sensitive the new wind drifted snow is before getting into steep and committing terrain.
recent activity

Small soft slab avalanche in Huntington Canyon:
weather
general announcements

We will publish full detailed advisories Saturday and Sunday mornings by 7am. We will also be publishing basic avalanche danger ratings & info during the week.

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