Pockets of weak, faceted snow linger along Alpine ridge crests this year. Adjust your expectations, sharpen your route-finding skills, and lower your risk tolerance to avoid a ride in a slide.
Cold temperatures are forecast. It'll be especially chilly in the shade or when the sun goes down. Pack an extra warm clothing layer!
Recent snow accompanied by moderate wind has formed soft wind slabs on leeward and cross loaded features in the alpine. Where this wind slab sits on a crust, it may be particularly reactive and has the potential to run far.
Up to 40cm of light dry snow is perched atop a crust on solar aspects and surface hoar on NW through E aspects. It will be reactive to human-triggering, especially on the crust and could gather significant mass.
Loose, dry sluffing to sz 2 was observed in steep alpine terrain today. Expect heavy rider-triggered sluffing ontop of the crust.
Isolated slab avalanches (Avalanche Mtn last week, Sapphire Col on Saturday) continue to surprise folks from shallow snowpack areas in the Alpine. Thin snowpack areas, which in normal years have over 3m of snow by now, need to be treated with more caution this year.
20-40cms of low density storm snow sits on top of a robust & supportive crust. This crust exists below 2500m on all aspects.
Recent winds have created soft windslab and wind effect at ridgetop and there is a thin suncrust on steep solar aspects.
Below Tree-line expect firm crusts, widespread frozen avalanche debris, and shallow snowpack hazards.
Warm temperatures have rounded and strengthened the mid and lower snowpack.
A high pressure system will bring cold Arctic air into the region. Expect cold temps and clear skies.
Tonight: Clear periods, nil precip, Alp low -14°C, light NE winds, freezing level (FZL) valley bottom.
Wed: Sunny with cloudy periods, Alp high -13°C, light E winds, FZL valley bottom.
Thurs: Sunny, Alp high -15°C, winds E: 25km/hr, FZL valley bottom.
Fri: Sunny, Alp high -7, winds SE 10 km/hr, FZL 700m
