Aspect:  All aspects

Elevation:  Treeline and above

Bottom Line:

Variable wind directions and speeds and snow available for transport could form fresh wind slabs on lee aspects and specific terrain features.  This problem might act as tipping point for deeper persistent problems.

Travel Advice:

• Make solid weather observations that inform the avalanche danger.
• Look for signs of wind touched snow/terrain features.
• Look for rapid changes, including heavy snowfall, rising temperatures and wind loading
• Use low consequence test slopes to identify reactive storm snow
• Avoid recently wind-loaded slopes and active loading!
• Keep an eye out for deeper instabilities, including shooting cracks, whumphing or collapsing that indicate a stiffer slab over weaker snow
• Be mindful of any terrain that is above you that has the potential to naturally avalanche
• Stay out of terrain traps where new snow could knock you into a hazard or pile up quickly, such as gullies or tree-wells

Aspect:  All aspects, especially wind-protected basins, aprons below steep terrain (see photos in Avalanche Activity Section below)

Elevation:  Treeline and above.

Bottom Line:  SE winds yesterday morning, and then NW winds yesterday afternoon have formed wind slabs below ridges and terrain features.  This problem will be difficult to identify with recent accumulations and new snowfall and wind transport is adding more stress.  Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route finding and conservative decision making are essential.  Human-triggered avalanches remain possible 1-6′ deep.

The likelihood of natural avalanches in the alpine is increasing through the weekend, avoid run-out zones and significant avalanche terrain, especially in poor visibility. There were active layers during the last storm, and many slopes may be on the brink, waiting for a trigger.

Travel Advice: 

• Limit travel in the alpine during heavy snowfall and increasing temperatures
• Think about any steep connected terrain and how a slab could propagate wider than expected
• Avoid similar terrain to the photos of recent avalanches (Avalanche Activity Section below)
• Look for recent natural avalanches.
• Watch for red flags: shooting cracks and collapsing (whumphing).
• Give a wide travel margin to suspect slopes, travel one-at-a-time, eyes on!
• Avoid terrain with traps and complexity.
• Use travel test pits to identify any suspect layers. Buried surface hoar is difficult to find in a snowpit without careful testing and shearing off layers.

Surface Hoar from Flower Mountain on 1/20/2022 & Buried Surface Hoar down 30cm and weak faceted layer down 100cm on 2/3/2022