How quickly things can change in the Sierra! The primary story is not about a few inches of new snow, but about wind. After a small storm Sunday night and some moderate winds redistributing it off and on throughout the week there were still several inches available for transport on upwind slopes when westerly winds picked up again last night. Winds remain at prime slab building strength this morning as another burst of snow showers make their way towards our area.
Small soft wind slabs have been failing with the addition of a skier’s weight for the past 2 days. These slabs have been failing within the recent storm snow and sliding on old hard wind crusts in the tops of north facing alpine chutes. 2-6” of new snow today, with strong westerly winds, will build even bigger slabs across a wider variety of terrain. On some northerly slopes near 10,000’ weak faceted snow sits just under the surface and could become the weak layer causing even larger avalanches.
Continue to be aware of obstacles hidden just under the snow surface.