Man, what a warm day yesterday. For any folks that were out and about there was a marked change in temperature – and snow quality – in the afternoon. Temperature at 1,900’ (Center Ridge SNOTEL) went from 36F to 39F between noon and 1pm which turned the soft “cream cheese” powder to sticky and difficult riding. There were several wet loose avalanches over the course of the day on all aspects below 3,000’. These were both natural and human triggered but most in the small category and confined to the upper 4-8” of damp loose snow. A few larger wet point releases were seen on the east face of Pyramid. Additionally, small wet slab avalanches were reported on the northern side of the Pass.
Today the warm and rainy conditons continue. We should see a decline in the natural wet activity but human triggered wet loose and possibly wet slab avalanches can be expected on the steeper slopes. These should be fairly small but do have the potential to become larger and more worrisome in bigger terrain where significant amounts of snow can be entrained.
Wind Slab:
Above 3,000’ in the upper alpine, where snow is falling and the wind is blowing, wind slab avalanches will be the primary concern. The moderate to strong easterly winds began to load slopes yesterday afternoon. Shallow 3-6” wind slabs were building easily but were only moderately touchy. These slabs should be thicker today and fairly stiff and stubborn to trigger. However, this is the case where they can lure you onto them before releasing, taking you for a ride. Watching for loaded slopes, cracking in stiff and hollow feeling snow and collapsing will be ways to avoid these wind slabs.
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