Temps are gradually rising, but clouds are forecast to continue to roll in overnight.
Scale back your exposure if the sun pops out unexpectedly.
Snow that fell in the past 2 weeks covers a series of crusts combined with surface hoar/facets in some locations. Loose wet avalanches in motion have the potential to step down to these layers, creating large avalanches.
As the day warms, moist/wet surface snow will slide on the most recent crust, and could gain mass in steep open terrain.
No new avalanches were observed or reported on Friday.
On Thursday, sun and warm temps triggered a cycle of loose wet avalanches, up to size 2.5, in steep solar terrain. There was also an MCR report of a size 2.5 remotely triggered avalanche from a solar aspect in the alpine.
Below treeline, the snowpack is a series of supportive crusts, which soften with daytime warming.
At treeline and in the alpine, steep due N aspects still hold dry snow. On solar aspects a breakable surface crust overlies a series of buried crusts, which may provide a failure plane for slab avalanches as temps rise.
The Nov 17 basal weakness can still be found in many locations 20-40cm thick, above the ground.
Increasingly unsettled weather and warming temps in to the weekend, as a pacific low approaches.
Tonight: Alpine low -5°C, light W ridge winds.
Sat: Isolated flurries, High -2°C, Freezing level (FZL) 1900m, Light SW wind.
Sun: Periods of snow/rain (10-15cm). Low -1°C, High 1°C. FZL 2200m. Light SW wind.
Mon: Isolated flurries. Low -4°C, High -1°C. FZL 2000m.
