A cornice falling on a slope may trigger a large avalanche.
Avoid thin and rocky start zones where triggering the persistent problem may still be possible.
Cornices are weak and may break further back on ridgelines than expected. These large loads can trigger buried weak layers on the slope below.
Several persistent weak layers exist in the upper meter of the snowpack. The likelihood of persistent slab avalanches will increase if the melt-freeze crust near the surface breaks down.
Over the weekend, small wet loose avalanches were reported to size 1.
Avalanches on buried weak layers continue to be sporadically reported from thin and rocky terrain features. On Friday, a natural cornice fall triggered a large (size 2.5) slab on a northeasterly alpine slope.
Around 10 to 15 cm of new snow, with the most on the west side of the region, sits over a crust or moist snow. Surface snow at lower elevations is expected to remain wet.
Several weak layers from early March, mid-February, and late January can be found in the mid and lower snowpack. These layers remain a concern where there is no thick crust above them.
The base of the snowpack is generally faceted.
Tuesday Night
Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Thursday
Mostly sunny. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with up to 20 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
