Watch for sun and warming temperatures weakening the upper snowpack on steep slopes. Wet loose avalanches can gain mass quicker than kids filling baskets on an Easter egg hunt.
Rising temperatures and full sun will create ideal conditions for loose wet avalanches. Watch for likely trigger points, like rocky outcrops where warming is most intense.
No new avalanches have been reported. However a wet loose cycle likely occurred on Saturday.
If you are heading into the backcountry, consider sharing your observations and posting a MIN.
While overnight cooling may produce a surface crust, snow surfaces will rapidly become moist/wet with sunshine and rising temperatures.
Steep south through west facing slopes may have a thin crust 40 cm deep, which may allow for better propagation of wet avalanches. The thick and strong mid-March crust is now expected to be buried 50-60 cm deep.
Below this, the rest of the snowpack is wet but well settled and strong. There is little to no snow below 1000 m.
Sunday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 11 °C. Freezing level 2800 m.
Monday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 8 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.
Wednesday
Sunny. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
