Areas where you can trigger an avalanche on Sunday are specific to where the wind has drifted the recent snow at higher elevations. Stay alert and monitor for these conditions if travelling in these areas.
Recent snow and southwesterly winds have formed slabs on lee features in the alpine and exposed ridges near treeline. While natural avalanche activity has tapered, human triggering may still be possible on Sunday. The wind slab problem overlaps with areas where cornices are also a concern.
Saturday night: Mostly cloudy, a trace of new snow, light southwest winds, alpine temperature -4 C, freezing level dropping to valley bottom.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, a trace of new snow, light southwest winds, alpine high temperature -2 C, freezing level around 1400 m.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, trace of new snow. light to moderate southwest winds, alpine high temperature -3 C, freezing level around 1200 m.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, a trace of new snow, light southwest winds, alpine high temperature -2 C, freezing level around 1300 m.
Over the past 48 hours, there have been reports of numerous natural avalanches up to size 2.5 breaking in the new storm snow, specifically on northeast aspects in the alpine.
20-30 cm of recent snow and moderate southwest winds have formed wind slabs in exposed areas on leeward aspects at and above treeline. This combination has also contributed to cornice growth, increasing the need for vigilance of overhead hazard. A temperature crust formed Friday at least as high as 1600 m.
The stout upper snowpack continues to settle in mild temperatures. Several crust layers exist in the mid snowpack as a result of previous warming and rain events. These have not been identified as bed surfaces or failure planes in recent avalanche activity.
The bottom 10-20 cm of the snowpack consists of faceted snow and decomposing crusts. Although inherently weak, this basal layer has not been an active avalanche problem in our region since December.
