Dogtooth

Cornices continue to fail regularly.

Plan your route to avoid any exposure to overhead cornices.

High

• We are confident due to a stable weather pattern.

On Thursday, a skier was caught by a small dry loose avalanche that they triggered. They were able to self-arrest.

Several small wet loose avalanches occurred on Thursday. Mainly from extreme terrain facing the sun.

Explosive control on cornices continues to produce large results. This is the time of year when cornices are more likely to fail naturally, too.

A thin crust has formed on south-facing terrain from recent solar radiation and overnight refreeze. On shaded aspects, 10 to 15 cm of soft snow overlies wind-affected, consolidated snow.

Below this, 30 to 70 cm overlies a thick crust from the recent atmospheric river, which extends up to at least 2200 m.

Various persistent weak layers may still exist in the top 150 cm of the snowpack and in shallow snowpack areas, depth hoar (large facets) can be found near the bottom of the snowpack. Large triggers, like falling cornices, may be able to trigger these layers at upper elevations where the crust below the recent snow is thin or absent.

Friday Night
Partly cloudy. 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Sunday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Monday
Mostly sunny. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 2200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid travelling on slopes below cornices.
• Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.
• Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.