The observations tab is ripe with some big old recent avalanches. Go give it a read through if you haven’t. Its fun, its cool, we like geeking out on avalanches, but sure don’t want to be a geek in one of these avalanches. Check out this graph and remember how we had an early start to the season with a little snow, a big old dry spell in December and January, and now the winter is starting to turn around after last week's steady storm. With that storm, we are seeing our first D3 and very deadly avalanches of the season. The most recent of which just happened Friday night. The snow is supportive and skiing or riding fast, so you don’t have to push the slope angels for a good time.
During last weeks avalanche cycle, avalanches were observed on just about all aspects that we currently have labeled for the Persistent Slab Problem. The majority of which were on north to east facing slopes, but the other aspects are guilty too, as Ian points out in this observation for example.
In today's forecast changes: We have dropped the wind slab avalanche problem from this list today. Though while those same wind-loaded slopes may not produce fresh wind slab avalanches today, they will hold the largest potential persistent slab avalanches. I’m expecting high thin clouds to develop and keep the suns strength in check today. Though we could see some wet loose avalanches on steep sunny slopes.
Tuesday is looking like it will be a very dangerous day in the backcountry. It’s looking like we could go to HIGH avalanche danger with another round of natural avalanches and some more very large and destructive avalanches. So plan accordingly.
Reported By: Evan Ross