Lizard-Flathead

Assess conditions as you travel.

Small wind slabs may exist at the highest elevations, while steep south-facing slopes could produce small wet loose avalanches under afternoon sun.

A widespread, developing melt-freeze crust exists to mountain top. Southwest winds have redistributed light new snow above this into deeper deposits on north and east facing slopes.

Below this, up to 50 cm of wet snow lies on a crust (1 to 10 cm thick) from early March. Various persistent weak layers may still exist in the top 120 cm of the snowpack - these layers may be a lingering concern at alpine elevations where a supportive surface crust does not exist.

The mid and lower snowpack is well settled and strong in most areas.

Moderate

• We are uncertain about how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.
• We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.

On Saturday, small loose wet avalanches were observed. The previous rain and warm temperatures produced a widespread wet avalanche cycle to size 3.

If you are heading into the backcountry, please consider sharing conditions via the MIN.

Sunday Night
Clear skies. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Monday
Sunny. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 10 to 20 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 10 to 20 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.
• Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
• Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.