Minimize exposure to sunny slopes in the heat of the day, especially below cornices.
Cornices have grown large and loom over many ridge lines. They have potential to fail naturally during the heat of the day and could also fail if we get too close to them. Give them a wide berth.
Dry sunny weather until a storm hits the region on Friday and Saturday...
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, light to moderate southwest wind, freezing level drops to valley bottom with alpine temperatures dropping to -10 C.
THURSDAY: Sunny, freezing level climbing from valley bottom to 1800 m in the afternoon, moderate southwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -1 C.
FRIDAY: Increasing cloud with light flurries in the afternoon bringing up to 5 cm of new snow, freezing level around 1500 m, moderate wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -3 C.
SATURDAY: Stormy weather with 10-25 cm of new snow, moderate southwest wind, freezing level at valley bottom with alpine high temperatures around -5 C.
A few small loose avalanches were observed on sun-exposed slopes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Over the weekend a few small wind slab avalanches (see this MIN report) and size 2 cornice falls were reported. The cornice falls did not trigger any slabs on the slopes below.
Alpine terrain is heavily wind affected. A crust can be found near the surface up to 2000 m on solar aspects and up to 1700 m on all other aspects. By midday Thursday warm sunny weather may melt the surface on south-facing slopes and below roughly 1800 m.
A thick rain crust that has facets associated with it sits 30-60 cm below the surface and can be found up to ridgetops. We have only seen one avalanche on this layer since February 17th. The mid-pack is well settled and strong, but the base of the snowpack contains basal facets that are most prominent in shallow rocky start zones.
