East Slopes South

In general, avalanches will be unlikely. However, you may see a few small wet loose avalanches or rollerballs from steep rocks or cliffs in direct sun. There is thin snow cover throughout the zone below 5500ft, and access to higher elevations is becoming increasingly challenging. 

On Saturday, some light snow flurries are possible in the morning before skies clear up in the afternoon. You may see small wet loose avalanches from very steep, rocky terrain in direct sun. Also, pay attention to overhead hazard from large cornices that are beginning to sag and may fail in the warm afternoon sun. These are a significant hazard on their own, but they may also trigger a wet loose avalanche on the slope below. 

A significant winter storm may begin to impact the region late on Sunday. So if you are traveling out in the mountains on Saturday, take note of the snow surface. Slick, icy crusts are a good sliding surface for new snow, and weak snow on the surface could be a potential weak layer. Let us know what you find by submitting an observation.

On Wednesday, I ventured out to the Pinegrass Ridge area off Hwy 12 and found a shallow, patchy snowpack up to 5000ft, even on shady northern aspects. Southerly slopes were snow free to ridgetops near 5700ft. In most locations, there was limited potential for avalanches in the terrain below 6000ft. Thankfully, regular grooming in recent weeks compacted snow on roads maintaining access through an otherwise snow-free landscape at lower elevations. Gaining access to higher elevation terrain could be your biggest challenge in the mountains on Saturday. You may need to use summer roads and trails to get to higher elevations with continuous snow coverage. Deeper snowpacks continue to hang on northerly aspects above 6000ft near Bumping Ridge and Mt Aix.