West Slopes North

The cooler phase of the Tuesday-Wednesday storm system brought periods of heavy snowfall, a cooling trend, and moderate winds and strong gusts. While the majority of the snow lacks a slab, wind loaded slopes will be an exception. Southerly and westerly winds during the storm will focus wind loading on typical start zones at middle and upper elevations. As the storm fizzles Wednesday evening, so do the winds. So, you might not get the typical feedback of textured snow surfaces and scoured ridgelines. However, you should still be able to feel the impacts of wind loading (if present), just under the snow surfaces. Winds may have scoured some aspects almost down to the 3/24 crust, while loading other aspects with punchy snow several feet thick above that crust. Evaluate for layers cohesive slabs on small test slopes below corniced wind lips. If these test slopes prove reactive, avoid steep slopes nearby. Winds were strong enough to load start zones and mid-slope rolls in the terrain. We expect that wind loaded terrain will not be widespread and that most areas will have right-side-up low-density snow that is well bonded to the underlying crust. When in doubt, wind-sheltered slopes are always an option. At upper elevations, slabs have a greater risk of being large and harder to escape. If you head to these elevations, do a more thorough evaluation about the bond between the recent snow and the underlying crust as a thin layer of faceted snow may not have been washed away by Tuesday's rains.

You're likely to find 12-15" of cold snow susceptible to the destabilizing influence of the strong March sunshine. Clouds are likely to hold off this problem until later in the morning hours, but once the sun makes a sustained appearance, expect a volley of rollerballs on steep sun-exposed slopes, followed by sluffs and potentially wet avalanches. Reduce your exposure to steep, open, sun-exposed slopes, particularly those above you, and move to lower angle terrain or shaded aspects.