A weak snowpack and strong May sun are making for high avalanche hazard. Backcountry travel is not recommended.
With intense solar heating and no overnight refreeze, the surface snow is moist and weak. Loose, wet avalanches are easily triggered in steep terrain and reliably gain enough mass to step down to the basal weakness at Treeline elevations and lower.
Several hot days with no overnight refreeze has warmed and destabilized the snowpack. This early season basal weakness has woken up below 2000m and is producing very destructive avalanches.
A very active period of spring avalanche activity started Friday and has continued through Wednesday. Wet/loose natural and controlled avalanches have been widespread with numerous sz 3, and isolated sz 4's. Many slidepaths failed down to ground once the avalanches reached Treeline elevations and lower. The number of avalanches has started to taper off, but large destructive avalanches are still possible.
Warm temps have penetrated the snowpack creating an moist, isothermal snowpack treeline and below on all aspects and into the alpine on solar aspects. Buried crusts in the upper 50 cm are breaking down. Shallow snowpack features have loose, weak snow to ground.
20-40cm above the ground the Nov 17 basal weakness can still be found in many areas.
As the high pressure weakens, freezing levels will start to drop and convective showers will develop, with rain/snow forecast for the weekend.
Tonight: Cloudy, Alpine Low 9°C, FZL 3500m, light ridgetop wind
Thurs: Mix of sun/cloud w. isolated showers, Alp High 15°C, FZL 3700m, light, gusting to mod E winds
Fri: Mix of sun/cloud, Alp high 12°C, FZL 3500m, light, gusting to mod E winds
