Still good skiing on sheltered northerly aspects. Despite the cool and cloudy forecast it's still a good plan to start your trip early and plan to be back at the trailhead before the daytime heating and/or solar radiation effects the snowpack. Check out Avalanche Canada's blog on Spring Conditions for some good tips.
Wind slab were observed on all aspects in the alpine. These may be more sensitive to triggering where the underlying crust is prominent.
Watch for sheltered northern areas where this layer may still exist. If triggered slabs could step down into the basal layers.
Loose wet avalanches are not likely on Thursday given the cloudy and cool forecast, but be mindful that at this time of year any short bursts of solar radiation could be enough to trigger slides.
No field team today. No avalanches reported or observed.
A few cm's of new snow fell Tuesday morning. Wind slabs are evident in the alpine on all aspects. While these slabs are not deep, they could be sensitive to triggering where the underlying surface is a smooth crust. Otherwise, expect a melt-freeze surface layer (or near surface) on all solar aspects as well as all aspects at lower elevations. Higher elevation northerly aspects still hold dry snow. Cornices are starting to sag in the mid-April heat, and some recent collapses have been observed.
Thursday is expected to be mainly cloudy with trace amounts of new snow. Temps will remain below freezing with daytime high of -2C expected and freezing levels at 1900m. Winds will be moderate from the North at ridgetop.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
