Be aware of overhead hazards, like cornices and large slopes.
Reduce your exposure to avalanche terrain during the heat of the day if the sun is out.
As temperatures rise, large cornice falls will become a concern. They can potentially trigger persistent slabs on the slopes below. Evidence of recent cornice falls has been reported in the region.
Facets and/or surface hoar buried 40 to 80 cm deep are most prominent at upper elevations where no surface crust has formed. Surface instabilities or large triggers may step down to these deeper layers.
Wet loose avalanches at lower elevations will be possible if the sun comes out between the cloudy periods.
A natural wet slab avalanche was reported in the seton area at 1500 m that was likely triggered over the weekend. The avalanche pulled out all the snow to the ground.
If you do observe an avalanche, please share your observations on the Mountain Information Network.
Up to 20 cm of new snow covers variably wind-affected snow in open terrain at upper elevations. A crust is found up to 2000 m and higher on solar slopes.
Three layers of concern currently exist in the upper-mid snowpack.
Surface hoar and a crust that formed in mid-March can be found 30 to 70 cm below the snow surface. This layer is producing sudden planar results in snow pack tests
Another layer of surface hoar that formed in early March can be found at a depth of 60 to 100 cm.
A layer of facets, surface hoar, and/or a crust from mid-February is buried 120 to 200 cm deep.
The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated, and there are no current concerns.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy with flurries. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Wednesday
Mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with 10 to 30 cm of snow. 40 to 70 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
