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Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Dave Kelly
Issued by Dave Kelly on
Sunday morning, January 26, 2025
The avalanche danger is MODERATE in mid and upper elevation terrain facing west-north-east where it may be possible to trigger an avalanche failing on weak sugary facets near the ground in areas with thinner snow. The avalanche danger is LOW at all other elevations and aspects.
If you step off your sled or out of your skis and sink straight to the ground, that is a sign that the snow you are traveling on is weak and faceted and it's time to find a lower angle (less than 30 °) slope to travel on.
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Special Announcements
URGENT!! Battery replacement required for anyone who received batteries from one of our participating "Batteries for Beacons" shops. We've found that the Duracell Procell AAA batteries are too short in length and may not make contact in avalanche beacons causing them to malfunction. DETAILS HERE
Weather and Snow
Under partly cloudy skies, trailhead temperatures are in the single digits °F and the 10,000' weather stations are in the mid-low teens °F. Winds at the lowest weather stations are blowing lightly and the highest weather stations are blowing from the southwest 8 gusting to 10 MPH.
Today, we should see mostly cloudy skies with temperatures between 22-28°F. Winds will blow lightly at the lower elevations and from the southwest at the higher elevations 15 gusting to 25 MPH.
This most recent snowfall didn't amount to much. We saw just under 1" of new snow at the Huntington Canyon Summit and had light snow that started around 10,000' in the later afternoon during our field day. The new snow did help improve the surface conditions out of the wind zone. In the wind zone we were still hitting old hard wind drifts and sastrugi (which is a fun word for wind hammered snow surface).
Recent Avalanches
Yesterday, there were no reports of avalanches. Check out all observations HERE.
We found some isolated wind drifts on a 28 ° east facing aspect at 8,900' in elevation that shattered around our sleds, 4" deep and isolated to where we were traveling. From what we saw yesterday it doesn't take much new snow (1") or light winds (5-10MPH) to create wind drifts.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
The likelihood of triggering a persistent weak layer avalanche has gone down, however the consequences remain the same. It may not take much additional wind or new snow to tip the scales and it will be possible for a human to trigger an avalanche failing 2'-4' deep. This will be more likely in thin, rocky, locations on steep terrain (greater than 30°) facing west-north-east at mid and upper elevations. A couple of days ago there were reports of whumpfing and collapsing on lower angle slopes near Electric Lake.
This is a sign that the weak faceted snow could still avalanche in steeper terrain and if you hear or feel collapsing or whumpfing find lower angle (less than 30°) slopes to travel on or under.
Additional Information
SKYLINE AVALANCHES & OBSERVATIONS
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INSTAGRAM: SKYLINE_AVALANCHE
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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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