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Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Sunday morning, January 4, 2026

Overall, the avalanche danger on the Skyline is LOW. There is a spotty MODERATE avalanche danger in the higher terrain on steep northwest through east facing slopes, especially right along the ridgelines and terrain features where the wind has drifted snow. It is unlikely that people will trigger an avalanche today because of how difficult it is to actually travel into terrain where the snowpack is unstable. However, if you end up in that terrain, avoid steep slopes with deposits of wind drifted snow.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
General Conditions: After Friday's warm mess, I was not expecting good conditions on Saturday. I'm pleased to say that the riding conditions were better than I anticipated. That's not saying much though. The snowpack is quite supportable for skis and sleds in most locations. You will find crusts around especially in the mid elevations. Higher, the snow is very dense but user friendly. Temperatures have been in the upper 20s to low 30s. Wind has been generally light from the southwest.
Mountain Weather: We have a storm approaching in a southwest flow. Today we'll see mostly cloudy skies, temperatures into the low to mid 30s and moderate speed ridgetop wind from the southwest. The best chance for snow is tonight into Monday. However, I'm not too hopeful for much snow. I'm only expecting a few inches. The weather looks unsettled through the week but only minor chances for any snow.
Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
Type
Location
Likelihood
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Description

There is not exactly one prominent avalanche problem out there right now. Overall, the current snowpack is mostly stable. For some more details on what's going on within the snowpack, check out these two backcountry observations:

  • Chris Magerl always does a thoughtful analysis of the snow. He was in the Electric Lake area on Saturday. DETAILS HERE
  • I was out prowling around Lake Canyon from the Miller Flat trailhead on Saturday. DETAILS HERE

I am not pleased that I am finding more areas with weak faceted snow near the ground. As of now, this isn't posing a huge threat but there's potential to find trouble. Areas I would avoid today are in the high elevations on steep slopes that face northwest through east where the wind has drifted and deposited snow. The combination of a wind drift or slab that's formed on top of an area that has weak facets near the ground is where you could find trouble today.

Video below: stubborn but full propagation in an Extended Column Test from Saturday - Kobernik

Additional Information
General Announcements
This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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